IRAINAC.R 


Fr\ 


iWELLIN 


H  I  NTS 


ON  THE 


Drainage  and  Sewerage 
of  Dwellings. 


WM.  PAUL  GERHARD, 

CIVIL  ENGINEER. 


NEW  YORK  : 
WILLIAM    T.    COMSTOCK, 

6    ASTOR    PLACE. 

1884. 


Copyright  by 

•rrrm.-       m       l~V-vwonn"i 


WM.  T.  COMSTOCK, 

1884. 


PREFACE. 


This  little  work  has  grown  out  of  a  series  of  articles,  con- 
tributed by  the  author,  under  the  pseudonym  "Hippocrates,"  to 
the  columns  of  "  BUILDING." 

It  has  been  the  author's  aim  to  give  an  account  of  the  usual 
condition  in  which  plumbing  work,  done  years  ago — and  some 
done  quite  recently— may  be  found,  and  also  to  give  suggestions 


ERRATA. 

Page  6  line  6  from  the  top,  read  "  preventable"  instead  of  "  preventive." 
"     17  line  9  "     "     "        ««     "filth." 

"     19  bottom  line  "  use  of  the  closet"  instead  of  "  use  of  closet." 
"     134  line  22  from  the  top  read  "from  the  outlet"  instead  of  "from 

the  soil  pipe." 

"     156  line  9  from  the  top  read  "  known"  instead  of  "knows." 
"     179  ;<    19    •«     "     "       ««    "free  from"  "      "  "freeof." 

194"     12    "     "  bottom  read  "by  heating  and  then  dipping  them." 
"     246  "      8    "     "  top  read  "my"  instead  of  "any." 
••     248"      2    "     "    "     "     4i  movable"  instead  of  "  marble." 


New  York,  January  M,  1884. 


411517 


PREFACE. 


This  little  work  has  grown  out  of  a  series  of  articles,  con- 
tributed by  the  author,  under  the  pseudonym  "Hippocrates,"  to 
the  columns  of  "  BUILDING." 

It  has  been  the  author's  aim  to  give  an  account  of  the  usual 
condition  in  which  plumbing  work,  done  years  ago — and  some 
done  quite  recently — may  be  found,  and  also  to  give  suggestions 
on  the  proper  manner  of  doing  the  work.  The  title  "Hints" 
has  been  chosen  purposely,  for  this  little  volume  cannot,  and 
does  not  pretend  to  be,  an  exhaustive  treatise  on  the  subject. 

Frequent  reference  has  been  made  to  the  Report  on  "  Filth- 
Diseases  and  their  Prevention,"  by  John  Simon,  Chief  Medical 
Officer  of  the  Privy  Council  and  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
of  Great  Britain.  Several  quotations  from  this  Important  essay 
have  been  taken  as  standard  truths,  upon  which  much  of  the 
subject  matter  has  been  founded. 

Otber  writers  on  Dwelling-house  Sanitation  have  been  quoted. 
The  author's  object  in  doing  so  was  to  strengthen  his  own  asser- 
tions by  the  conclusions,  reached  by  other  workers  in  the  same 
field. 

Doubtless  there  will  be  those,  who,  on  perusal  of  the  book, 
will  find  "  nothing  new  in  it."  To  these,  the  author  would  reply 
that,  in  his  judgment,  the  subject  of  *•  Healthy  Homes  "  cannot 
be  too  often  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public,  who,  as  a 
rule,  are  yet  Indifferent  to  the  importance  of  having  in  their 
houses  good  drainage  and  sewerage 

WM.  PAUL  GERHARD. 

New  Forfc,  January  1st,  1884. 


-  ' 


411517 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Fresh  Air  versus  Sewer  Gas. 

PAGE. 

House  sanitation — Hippocrates'  formula — Sani- 
tary considerations  in  planning  healthy 
homes — Purity  of  soil,  air  and  water — Sew- 
age and  sewerage — Modern  conveniences — 
Dr.  Simon  on  filth — Sewer  gas  and  germs  of 
disease — Pure  air 1-8 

CHAPTER  II. 

Necessity  of  Ventilation  in  Rooms  containing  Modem 
Conveniences ;  Defective  Arrangement  of  Plumb- 
ing Fixtures. 

Bathrooms  and  water-closets,  dark  and  unven- 
tilated — Ill-smelling  slop  sinks — Filthy  ser- 
vants' water-closets — Pan  closet — Tight  wood- 
work—D-traps— Safe  wastes— Kitchen  sink 
—Bell  traps— Wooden  laundry  tubs,  rot- 
ten and  leaky— Butler's  pantry  sink — Choked 
bottle  traps— Valve  closets— Plunger  closets- 
Wash-bowls  and  bath-tubs,  untrapped  or  im- 
properly trapped — Overflow  pipes — Urinals — 
Plumbing  regulations 9-25 

CHAPTER  III. 
Soil  and  Waste  Pipe  Systems  as  usually  found  in 

Dwellings. 

Defective  soil  and  waste  pipes — Lead  soil  pipes — 
Cast-iron  plumbers'  pipe — Light  pipe  a  worth- 
less article — Extra  heavy  cast-iron  soil  pipe 
criticised— Sand-holes,  flaws,  thickness  not 


VI 

uniform,  hubs  weak — Defective  joints — Water 
pressure  test  —  Unventilated  soil  pipes  — 
Worthlessness  of  cowls  for  soil  pipes — Return 
bends  objectionable— Top  of  soil  pipes  not  to 
be  near  chimneys  or  attic  windows — Size  of 
soil  and  waste  pipes 26-45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Traps  and  Systems  of  Trapping. 
Trapping  of  fixtures— Traps  are  necessary  evils — 
Trap  on  the  main  drain — Fresh  air  inlet — 
Disconnection — Various  systems  of  trapping 
explained 46-56 

CHAPTER  V. 
Details  of  Traps. 

Shape  of  traps— Flushing  of  traps— Traps  should 
be  self -cleansing — Siphon  traps  superior  to 
others — Drain  traps — Flap  valves — Cesspool 
traps — S-traps — Disconnecting  traps  —  Gully 
traps— Tidal  Valves— Water-closet  traps— D- 
traps — Anti-D-traps— S-traps — Traps  for  sinks, 
bowls  and  tubs — Water  seal  and  mechanical 
traps — Bell  traps — Dip  traps — S-traps — Bottle 
traps — Floating  ball  traps — Gravity  valve 
traps — Flap  valve  traps — Mercury-seal  traps — 
Non-Siphoning  traps 57-120 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Insecurity  of  the  Common  Water  Seal  Traps. 
Defects  of  water  seal  traps — Back  pressure — 
Loss  of  seal  through  momentum — Siphonage — 
Evaporation — Absorption  of  gases — Preven- 
tion of  Siphonage — Vent  pipes  for  traps — Ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages— Experiments  on 
trap  siphonage — Non-siphoning  traps — Scien- 
tific researches  by  Dr.  Fergus  and  Dr.  Car- 
michael  .  121-130' 


Vll 

CHAPTER  VIL 
Defects  in  the  Plumbing  Work  of  Dwelling*. 

Lead  waste  pipes  under  floors — Carelessness  of 
carpenters  —  Sagging  of  pipes  —  Defective 
joints  in  lead  pipe— Waste  pipes  of  too  large 
calibre  clog  up  sooner  than  small  pipes — Traps 
choke,  if  too  large,  sooner  than  if  too  small — 
List  of  common  faults  in  plumbing — Super- 
intendence of  plumbing  by  experts — Necessity 
of  periodical  inspections 131-187 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Cellar  Drains  and  Drainage  of  Cellars. 

Air  of  cellars— Impervious  cellar  floors— Cess- 
pools under  houses — Made  ground — Drainage 
of  cellars — Disconnection  between  cellar  drain 
and  sewer — Cesspool  or  stench  trap  in  cellar 
floor  objectionable — Main  house  drain — Earth- 
en and  cement  pipes  objectionable — Brick 
drains  an  abomination — Heavy  iron  pipes 
must  be  used  under  a  dwelling 138-143 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Usual  Defects  of  House  Drains;  Sewer  Connections* 
Privy  Vaults  and  Cesspools. 

Faults  of  the  external  sewerage — Pollution  of 
air— Poisoning  of  wells  and  springs— Leaky 
joints  in  earthen  drains — Deposits  of  sewage 
in  pipes — Insufficient  inclination  of  pipes — 
Drains  of  too  large  diameters— Faulty  junc- 
tions— Imperfect  sewer  connections— Leaching 
cesspools— Cones  of  filtration  and  of  pollu- 
tion— Tight  receptacles  for  sewage — Slop- 
water  nuisance — Privies — Privy  vaults — Ad- 
vantages of  water-closets — Dr.  Simon  on  dan- 
gers from  filth .  144-165 


Vlll 

CHAPTEE  X. 
System  of  Internal  Sewerage  as  it  should  be  in  a 

Dwelling. 

Drainage  or  removal  of  sub-soil  water — Tight 
cellar  floors — Dampness  of  foundation  walls — 
Sewerage  of  dwellings — General  rules  on 
house  drainage — Material  for  soil,  waste  and 
air  pipes — Heavy  cast-iron  pipes  for  sewerage 
purposes — Manufacture  of  cast-iron  pipes — 
Casting  pipes — Testing  pipes  at  the  foundry  by 
pressure — Protection  against  rust — Manner  of 
laying  iron  pipes — Leading  and  caulking 
joints — Flange  joints — Rust  joints — Wrought 
iron  pipes  for  soil,  waste,  air  pipes  and  lead- 
ers— Durham  system  of  house  drainage — 
Manufacture  of  lap- welded  standard  steam 
pipes — Hydraulic  pressure  test — Screw  joints 
— Pipe  cutting  machines — Tapping  machines — 
Construction  of  soil  pipe  stacks — Method  of 
supporting  water-closets — Special  fittings  of 
the  Durham  system — Lead  waste  pipes — 
Wiped  joints— Connection  between  lead  and 
iron  pipes— Fixtures  to  be  trapped  by  separate 
traps — Overflow  pipes — Drip  pipes — Refriger- 
ator wastes— Set  fixtures — Definition  of  sani- 
tary plumbing 166-203 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Plumbing  Fixtures. 

Description  of  plumbing  fixtures— Kitchen 
sinks — Grease  traps — Laundry  tubs — Pantry 
sinks — Refrigerators — Stationary  wash-stands 
— Flushing  rim  bowls — Chain  and  plug  or 
waste  valves — Tip-up  lavatories — Bath  tubs — 
Waste  valves— Standing  waste— Housemaids' 
sinks — Slop  sinks — Flushing  rim  slop  hopper — 
Urinals  —  Automatic  flush  tanks  —  Water 
closets — Pan  closets — Valve  closets  and  plun- 
ger closets — Hopper  closets  and  washout 


IX 

closets — Report    of     the  General    Board    of 
Health  of  England  on  Water-closets,  made  in 

1852 204-234 

General  arrangement  and  care  of  fixtures — 
Plumbing  fixtures  should  be  left  without  cas- 
ing— "  Everything  in  plain  sight  "—Open  ar- 
rangement of  fixtures — Kitchen  sinks— Pan- 
try sinks — Housemaids'  sinks — Slop  hoppers — 
Laundry  tubs  —  Stationary  wash-basins  — 
Bath  tubs— Water-closets— Design  for  a  bath- 
room— Ventilation  of  bath-rooms — Arrange- 
ment of  bath  room  and  water-closet — A  sep- 
arate apartment  for  the  water-closet  is  prefer- 
able—Ventilation of  the  "houseside"  of  traps- 
Vent-pipe  to  be  run  to  a  constantly  heated 
flue  —  Ventilation  of  water-closet  bowls  — 
Rooms  containing  plumbing  fixtures  must 
have  proper  ventilation — Plumbing  fixtures 
placed  in  an  annex — Washbowls  in  sleeping 
rooms  are  objectionable — Drip  pipes — Lead 
safes  are  unsightly — If  the  floor  under  fixtures 
is  made  impervious,  safes  may  be  dispensed 
with — Suggestion  for  a  bath  room  with  tiling 
or  terrazzo  floor — Care  of  plumbing  work— Fix- 
tures need  constant  attention  and  frequent 
scrubbing  —  Cleansing  of  bath  rooms  — 
Periodical  inspections  of  the  plumbing  work — 
Disinfectants — Care  of  plumbing  work  in 
houses  closed  during  the  summer  months — 
Evaporation  of  the  water  in  traps — Apparatus 
for  maintaining  the  water  seal  of  traps — Care 
of  plumbing  work  in  houses  closed  during  the 
winter — Freezing  of  pipes  and  traps 234-269 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Removal  and  Disposal  of  Household  Wastes. 

External  sewerage  of  dwellings— Vitrified  or  ce- 
ment pipe  drains — Sizes  of  house  sewers — Ta- 
bles and  diagrams — Inclination  required  for 


drains — Depth  of  sewer — Alignment — Branch 
drains — Lamp  holes,  access  pipes  and  man 
holes — Ventilating  openings — Manufacture  of 
vitrified  pipes — Cement  pipe — Manner  of  lay- 
ing vitrified  pipe  drains — Cement  joints — 
Testing  drains  by  hydraulic  pressure — Patent 

joints 270-278 

Disposal  of  household  wastes — Sewers  in  cities — 
City  sewerage — Disposal  of  sewage  for  closely 
built-up  villages — Sewage  disposal  in  suburban 
and  rural  districts — Leaching  cesspools — Sew- 
age must  be  returned  to  the  soil — Surface  irri- 
gation —  Sub-surface  irrigation  —  Advantages 
of  each  method — Details  of  sub-surface  irriga- 
tion— Sewage  or  slop- water  tank — Absorption 
field — Absorption  drains — Manner  of  laying 
them — Slop- water  disposal — Earth  closet — Au- 
tomatic sewage  tanks  with  intermittent  dis- 
charge— Grease  trap  and  catct  basin  for  solids 
—Siphon  and  tumbler  tanks 279-302, 


HINTS 

ON  THE 

DRAINAGE  AND  SEWERAGE 
OF  DWELLINGS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

FRESH  AIR  VERSUS  SEWER  GAS. 


subject  of  this  little  volume  is  one  to 
-L  which,  at  some  time  or  other,  every  one  en- 
gaged in  building  must  necessarily  devote  some 
attention.  Architects,  engineers,  builders,  mechan- 
ics, physicians  and  sanitarians,  house-owners  and 
house-holders,  are  all  interested  in  it.  While  it  is 
only  one  branch  of  the  problem  of  house  sanita- 
tion, the  sewerage  of  the  dwelling  is  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance,  as  from  it  largely  depends 
the  attainment  of  the  conditions  described  in  the 
old  Greek  sanitarian's  formula  :  "Pure  air,  pure 
water  and  a  pure  soil." 

In  planning  a  new  house,  its  site  and  location,, 
the  character  of  the  subsoil  of  the  building  lot,, 
the  aspect  of  the  house,  the  construction  of  proper 
foundations  and  dry,  well-lighted  cellars,  the 
means  for  preventing  dampness  of  walls,  the 
proper  materials  for  building,  the  arrangement  of 
rooms,  halls,  closets  and  staircases  most  consistent 
with  health,  comfort  and  convenience,  the  lighting, 
warming  and  ventilation  of  the  house,  its  drain- 
age, water  supply,  sewerage,  the  arrangement  of 
plumbing  fixtures  and  plumbing  work,  the  re- 


moval  and  proper  disposal  of  kitchen  garbage, 
slops,  ashes,  of  excreta  and  liquid  wastes  of  the 
household,  and  many  other  details,  must  be  care- 
fully considered. 

The  soil  on  which  the  house  will  be  erected 
should  be  free  from  impurities,  and  must  be  con- 
stantly kept  unpolluted  ;  an  abundance  of  fresh 
air  of  proper  temperature  and  a  continuous  re- 
moval of  vitiated  air  are  necessary  for  the  health 
of  the  inmates  ;  a  never-ceasing  and  bountiful 
supply  of  pure  and  wholesome  water  is  required 
for  drinking  and  cooking  purposes,  for  daily  ablu- 
tions of  the  body,  for  cleaning  utensils,  wash- 
ing linen,  scrubbing  floors,  windows,  flushing 
plumbing  fixtures,  etc. 

The  water  brought  into  the  dwelling  under 
pressure  must  be  removed  from  it  after  use,  being 
then  more  or  less  foul  and  mixed  with  the  dis- 
charges of  the  human  body,  from  soiled  linen,  from 
personal  ablutions,  with  greasy  matters  of  the  pan- 
try and  kitchen,  etc.  Such  fouled  water  from  the 
household  (to  which  may  be  added  the  foul  liquids 
from  stables  and  manufacturing  establishments  of 
all  descriptions)  is  called  sewage,  and  the  object  of 
a  sewerage  system  is  the  immediate  removal  by 
means  of  water  of  all  sewage  from  habitations,  and 
its  disposal  in  a  manner  so  as  to  render  it  not  only 
innocuous,  but,  if  possible,  useful. 

For  convenience  in  performing  the  various  duties 
of  domestic  cleanliness,  and  further  for  health  and 
comfort's  sake,  our  modern  houses  are  furnished 
with  set  fixtures,  basins,  tubs,  sinks  and  water 
•closets,  supplied  with  hot  or  cold  water,  and  each 


connected  by  wastepipes  to  the  drainage  system. 
The  planning  of  a  proper  and  efficient  system  of 
water  supply  and  sewerage  for  a  dwelling  requires 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject,  which  is  of 
such  a  vast  extent  that  it  seeins  impossible  to  offer 
here  more  than  a  few  hints  and  suggestions.  These 
will  relate  not  so  much  to  proper  mechanical  exe- 
cution of  the  details  of  plumbing  work  as  they  will 
to  sound  sanitary  arrangement  of  the  drainage 
system.  Upon  the  latter  will  largely  depend  the 
future  immunity  of  the  building  from  sewer  gas, 
and  consequently  the  freedom  of  its  inmates  from 
certain  preventible  diseases,  generally  attributed  to 
the  entrance  of  gases  from  the  sewer  or  drain 
through  defective  plumbing  work.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  discuss  at  length  the  much  vexed  ques- 
tion of  the  influence  of  sewer  air  in  developing  or 
spreading  certain  epidemic  diseases.  I  believe  that 
this  question  can  only  be  satisfactorily  solved  by 
physiologists,  and  that  neither  architects,  nor  en- 
gineers nor  physicians  should  pronounce  an  opin- 
ion of  their  own,  unless  they  should  have  devoted 
years  of  actual  study  and  experimenting  to  organic 
chemistry  and  to  that  branch  of  physiology  which 
relates  to  the  germ  theory  of  disease. 

Dr.  John  Simon,  Chief  Medical  Officer  of  the 
Privy  Council  and  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
of  Great  Britain,  and  a  high  sanitary  authority, 
says  in  his  able  report  on  "  Filth  Diseases  n:  "  An 
important  suggestion  of  modern  science  with 
regard  to  the  nature  of  the  operations  by  which 
Filth,  attacking  the  human  body,  is  able  to  dis- 
order or  destroy  it,  is :  that  the  chief  morbific 


agencies  in  Filth  are  other  than  those  chemically- 
identified  stinking  gaseous  products  of  organic  de- 
composition which  force  themselves  on  popular 
attention.  Exposure  to  the  sufficiently  concen- 
trated fumes  of  organic  decomposition  (as,  for 
instance,  in  an  unventilated  old  cesspool  or  long- 
blocked  sewer)  may,  no  doubt,  prove  immediately 
fatal  by  reason  of  some  large  quantity  of  sulphide 
of  ammonium,  or  other  like  poisonous  and  fetid 
gas,  which  the  sufferer  suddenly  inhales,  and 
far  smaller  doses  of  these  fetid  gases,  as  breathed 
with  extreme  dilution  in  ordinary  stinking  atmos- 
pheres, both  give  immediate  headache  and  general 
discomfort  to  sensitive  persons  temporarily  ex- 
posed to  them,  and  also  appear  to  keep  in  a  some- 
what vaguely  depressed  state  of  health  many  who 
habitually  breathe  them  ;  but  here,  so  far  as  we 
yet  know,  is  the  end  of  the  potency  of  those  stink- 
ing gases.  While,  however,  thus  far  there  is  only 
the  familiar  case  of  the  so-called  common  chemi-> 
cal poison,  which  hurts  by  instant  action,  and  in 
direct  proportion  to  its  palpable  and  ponderable 
dose,  the  other  and  far  wider  possibilities  of  mis- 
chief which  we  recognize  in  Filth  are  such  as  ap- 
parently must  be  attributed  to  morbific  ferments 
or  contagia  ;  matters  which  not  only  are  not  gas- 
eous, but,  on  the  contrary,  so  far  as  we  know 
them,  seem  to  have  their  essence,  or  an  insepara- 
ble part  of  it,  in  certain  solid  elements  which  the 
microscope  discovers  in  them  :  in  living  organisms, 
namely,  which  in  their  largest  sizes  are  but  very 
minute  microscopical  objects,  and  at  their  least 
sizes  are  probably  unseen  even  with  the  micro- 


scope  ;  organisms  which,  in  virtue  of  their  vitality, 
are  indefinitely  self-multiplying  within  their  re- 
spective spheres  of  operation,  and  which  therefore, 
as  in  contrast  with  common  poisons,  can  develop 
indefinitely  large  ulterior  effects  from  first  doses 
which  are  indefinitely  small.  Of  ferments  thus 
characterized,  the  apparently  essential  factors  of 
specific  chemical  processes,  at  least  one  sort — 
the  ordinary  septic  (putrefactive)  ferment — seems 
always  to  be  present  where  putrefactive  changes 
are  in  progress,  as,  of  course,  in  all  decaying  ani- 
mal refuse  ;  while  others,  though  certainly  not 
essential  to  all  such  putridity,  are  in  different 
degrees  apt,  and  some  of  them  little  less  than  cer» 
tain,  to  be  frequent  incidents  of  our  ordinary 
refuse.  As,  apparently,  it  is  by  these  various 
agencies  (essential  and  incidental)  that  Filth  pro- 
duces "  zymotic  "  (fermentative)  disease,  it  is  imr 
portant  not  to  confound  them  with  the  fetid  gases 
of  organic  decomposition  ;  and  the  question,  what 
infecting  powers  are  prevalent  in  given  atmos- 
phere, should  never  be  regarded  as  a  mere  question 
of  stink.  It  is  of  the  utmost  practical  importance 
to  recognize  in  regard  of  Filth,  that  agents  which 
destroy  its  stink  may  yet  leave  all  its  main  powers 
of  disease-production  undiminished.  Whether  the 
ferments  of  disease,  if  they  could  be  isolated  in 
sufficient  quantity,  would  prove  themselves  in  any 
point  odorous,  is  a  point  on  which  no  guess  need 
be  hazarded  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  in  doses  in 
which  they  can  fatally  infect  the  human  body  they 
are  infinitely  out  of  reach  of  even  the  most  culti- 
vated sense  of  smell,  and  that  this  sense  (though 


6 

its  positive  warnings  are  of  indispensable  sanitary 
service)  is  not  able,  except  by  indirect  and  quite 
insufficient  perceptions,  to  warn  us  against  risks  of 
morbid  infection." 

Abundant  evidence  has  been  given  by  Dr. 
Parkes  in  his  "  Manual  of  Practical  Hygiene  "  to 
establish  with  almost  absolute  certainty  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  connection  between  sewer  air  and 
certain  preventive  diseases,  notably  bowel  diseases. 

Notwithstanding  this,  Dr.  Soyka  and  Dr.  Renk, 
both  of  Munich,  have  denied  the  existence  of  any 
positive  proof  of  the  influence  of  sewer  gas  upon 
the  spread  of  zymotic  diseases.* 

Their  views  are  in  direct  conflict  with  the  above 
quoted  theories  of  Dr.  Simon,  with  the  over- 
whelming evidence  given  by  Dr.  Parkes  and  other 
writers,  and  the  facts  and  statements  contained  in 
many  Health  Reports  of  this  and  of  the  old  country. 

While  this  scientific  question  is  pending,  it  seems 
best  to  continue  to  assume  that  gases  originating 
from  the  decomposition  of  animal  or  vegetable 
matter,  especially  if  the  decomposition  goes  on  in 
the  absence  of  oxygen,  are  capable  of  doing  harm, 
when  entering  a  dwelling.  Just  how  much  harm 
they  may  do  will  largely  depend  upon  the  consti- 
tution of  the  individual  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
such  germ-containing  atmosphere.  A  healthy  per- 
son, having  much  out-of-door  exercise,  may 
breathe  sewer  air  with  impunity  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  people  in  delicate  health,  women  and  chil- 
dren, may  suffer  severely  from  breathing  impure 

*  See  Deutsche  Viertel  jahrschrift  fur  oeffentliche 
Gesundheitspflege,  Vol.  XIII.  and  XIV.,  1881-1882. 


air,  the  consequences  being  slight  headache,  nausea, 
vomiting,  or  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  enteric  fever, 
oholera,  diphtheria,  etc.  Workingmen  engaged 
for  a  whole  day  in  cleaning  sewers  may  feel  less 
influence  of  the  deadly  poison  than  a  person  sleep- 
ing in  an  unventilated  room  containing  an  un- 
trapped  washbowl  or  other  plumbing  fixture. 

It  has  been  said  that  "  pure  air  and  plenty  of  it 
is  the  best  cure  for  sewer  gas."  This  is  undoubt- 
edly true,  but  how  little  is  it  yet  understood  ! 
Pure  air  is  just  what  is  needed  in  our  homes,  and 
I  shall  repeatedly  refer  in  the  following  pages  to 
the  necessity  of  ari  abundant  supply  of  this  life- 
giving  element  in  order  to  effect  the  proper  venti- 
lation of  all  living  and  sleeping  rooms,  in  particu- 
lar of  all  closets  and  bathrooms  of  a  dwelling,  of 
all  plumbing  fixtures,  soil  and  waste  pipes,  of  the 
house  drain,  the  sewer  or  cesspool. 

Says  Dr.  George  Wilson -in  his  book,  "Healthy 
Life  and  Healthy  Homes "  :  "  In  order  to  keep 
the  air  of  the  house  pure  and  healthy,  there  must 
be  no  damp  foundations,  no  damp  walls,  no  dark 
and  dingy  cupboards  or  corners  to  confine  the  air 
and  devitalize  it,  no  filth  in  or  around  the  dwelling 
to  pollute  it,  and  no  overcrowding.  There  should 
be  cleanliness  everywhere,  adequate  means  of  ven- 
tilation, plenty  of  window  space  to  let  sufficient 
light  into  every  room  and  proper  appliances  for 
warming  during  cold  weather."  And  Dr.  John 
Simon  speaks  about  domestic  cleanliness  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  perfection  of  cleanliness  would  be 
that  all  refuse  matters  should  from  their  very  be- 
ginning pass  away  inoffensively  and  continuously  ; 


and  the  principles  of  approximation  to  that  ideal 
must  evidently  be,  first  to  provide  to  the  largest 
practicable  extent  for  the  continuous  outflow  of 
refuse  as  fast  as  produced,  and  secondly  (so  far  as 
continuous  outflow  cannot  be  got)  to  provide  for 
the  closest  possible  limitation  and  the  completest 
possible  innocuousness  of  such  refuse  as  is  una- 
voidably detained." 

This  last  quotation  embodies  in  the  fewest 
words  the  vital  principles  of  household  sanitation. 

Let  us  now  inquire  what  the  actual  condition  of 
city  houses  is,  with  reference  to  those  rooms  con- 
taining plumbing  fixtures. 


CHAPTER  II. 

NECESSITY    OF   VENTILATION    IN    ROOMS    CONTAINING 
MODERN  CONVENIENCES  ;    DEFECTIVE  ARRANGE- 
MENT   OF    PLUMBING    FIXTURES. 


TJ  ATHROOMS  and  water  closet  apartments  are 
Ls  frequently  located  in  the  center  of  the  house, 
with  no  other  light  but  that  from  a  window  opening 
into  the  staircase  hall.  One  looks  in  vain  for  any 
means  of  renewing  the  air  of  the  apartment.  In 
placing  the  bathroom  in  this  part  of  the  house,  it 


Pro.  1.— Common  arrangement  of  bath  rooms  in  City  Houses? 


10 

certainly  did  not  occur  to  either  architect,  house 
owner  or  plumber  that,  just  in  cases  where  a  room 
containing  plumbing  work  cannot  have  a  window 
to  an  outside  wall,  ventilation  is  most  essential, 
more  so  than  any  costly  furniture,  decorated  ceil- 
ings or  artistic  wall  paper.  It  is  not  unusual  to 
find  water  closets  and  urinals  placed  in  dark  closets, 
lighted  by  a  gas  flame  (Fig.  1),  with  no  other  outlet 
for  the  products  of  combustion,  and  any  possible 
foul  gases,  than  into  the  hall  of  the  house,  or, 
what  would  be  infinitely  worse,  into  an  adjoining 
bedroom.  Is  it  surprising,  then,  that  complaints 
of  sewer  gas  are  frequent  and  loud  ? 

On  the  bedroom  floors  we  find  a  dark,  damp, 
unventilated  and  ill  smelling  closet,  which  contains 
a  slop-sink  or  a  slop-hopper,  into  which  the  house- 
maid pours  the  slops  from  bed-chambers.  Such  a 
oloset  is  certainly  as  much  in  need  of  ventilation  as 
the  water  closet  apartment  is,  for  slop-sinks  have 
large  surfaces  exposed  to  spatterings,  and,  as  usually 
constructed,  receive  no  flush  of  clean  water  follow- 
ing a  discharge  from  a  slop  pail ;  they  remain 
fouled  with  dirty  matter,  which  soon  gives  off 
offensive  odors.  But,  in  ninety-nine  out  of  every 
hundred  houses,  the  air  of  such  a  closet  is  never 
changed,  except  when  its  door  is  opened,  and  then 
only  to  bring  its  fouled  atmosphere  in  connection 
with  the  air  of  the  very  centre  of  the  house. 

Descending  into  the  basement,  we  find  in  many 
cases  a  nuisance  created  by  the  servants'  water 
closet.  The  most  remote,  ill-lighted  and  closely 
confined  corner  of  the  basement  or  cellar  is  gener- 
ally selected  for  it.  Is  there  anything  astonishing 


11 


about  the  usual  condition  in  which  we  find  such 
apparatus?  The  closet  being  located  in  a  dark, 
out-of-the-way  place,  no  trouble  is  taken  in  keeping 
the  bowl  free  from  filth.  I  have  seen,  in  the 
houses  of  wealthy,  refined  and  intelligent  people, 
such  places  in  the  very  worst  state  of  neglect  and 
untidiness,  being  seldom,  if  ever,  looked  after  by 
heads  of  families.  Such  condition  of  things  war- 
rants the  general  conclusion  that  the  occupants  of 


FIG.  2.— Sectional  view  of  Pan  Closet, 
such  houses  do  not  at  all  consider  that  filthiness  of 
the  servants'  water  closet  apparatus  is  not  confined 
to  its  apartment,  but  may  create  gases  of  decom- 
position that  will  spread  out  and  fill  the  whole 
dwelling,  to  say  nothing  of  unclean  habits  to  which 
it  must  lead  servants. 

I  fear  that  many  readers  will  call  my  description 


12 


exaggerated — others  may  think  the  account  rather 
discouraging — but  my  picture  is  by  no  means  over- 
drawn. I  know  from  long  actual  experience  that 
the  facts  disclosed  are  the  rule,  not  the  exception,  in 
most  of  our  houses.  To  arouse  public  interest  in 
this  question,  and  to  enlighten  those  in  search  of  a 
healthy  home,  such  facts  and  statements  should 
have  the  widest  publicity  given  them. 


PIG.  3.— Water-closet  fitted  up  with  tight  wood-work. 
A  somewhat  closer  examination  of  the  fixtures 
connected  with  the  drainage  system  and  located  in 
the  apartments  described,  usually  reveals  the  fol- 
lowing facts.  The  servants'  water  closet  is  most 
always  of  the  cheapest  and  worst  kind,  a  pan 
closet  (Fig.  2),  encased  in  tight  nailed  woodwork 
(Fig.  3),  with  no  ventilation  under  the  seat  nor  to 


13 

the  apartment.  If  we  succeed  after  considerable 
trouble  and  delay  in  removing  the  riser,  seat  and 
cover,  we  will  find  the  floor  stained  from  leakage 
of  the  closet  valve,  and  ill-smelling  from  the 
absorption  into  the  wood  of  spilled  urine.  Dust 
and  dirt  and  perhaps  vermin  will  have  accumulated 
in  the  hidden  corners.  The  closet  bowl  is  generally 
flushed  by  a  valve,  supplied  directly  from  the  rising 
water  main  of  the  house.  The  flushing  water  enters 
the  bowl  at  one  point  of  its  circumference  (Fig.  2) 
arid  whirls  around,  unable  to  flush  the  bowl, 
which  accounts  for  its  generally  filthy  appearance. 
The  operation  of  pulling  the  handle  starts  the  flush, 
at  the  same  time  it  causes  the  pan  which  closes  the 
outlet  of  the  bowl  to  tilt,  thus  dumping  its  con- 
tents into  the  container.  Each  time  this  is  done, 
a  puff  of  sewer  gas  from  the  container  enters  the 
apartment.  This  container  or  receiver  has  been 
called  a  "  hidden  chamber  of  horrors."  As  usually 
constructed  it  is  of  plain  iron,  with  rough  interior 
surface,  of  large  size  to  allow  the  movement  of  the 
pan,  and  receives  no  flush  whatever.  Its  sides  soon 
get  coated  with  excrements,  putrefaction  begins, 
and  sewer  gas  is  thus  generated  in  the  heart  of  the 
house.  The  plumber  may  have  assured  the  house 
owner  that  he  has  put  a  trap  under  the  closet  to 
«ut  off  the  gases  from  the  soil  pipe,  he  may  have 
told  him  that  there  is  an  additional  seal  against 
gases  afforded  by  the  water  in  the  pan,  and  seeing 
all  the  complicated  machinery  about  the  apparatus, 
(see  Fig.  4,)  the  householder — generally  a  layman 
in  such  matters — will  be  led  to  believe  that  he  has 
in  his  house  the  most  modern  and  perfect  appliance. 


14 


And  a  most  perfect  and  ingenious  apparatus  it  is — 
to  fill  the  house  with  noxious,  nasty  and  health- 
menacing  smells  !  For  there  are  ways  in  which  the 
sewer  gas  will  enter  the  room,  even  if  the  pan 
should  be  closed  and  the  closet  outlet  sealed.  The 
hole  in  the  container  for  the  spindle  which  works 
the  pan  is  never  made  tight,  thus  establishing  a  di- 
rect connection  between  the  container  and  the  room. 


PIG.  4.— Outside  view  of  Pan  Closet,  bowl  removed. 

The  bowl  is  fastened  to  the  container  only  by  a 
putty  joint,  which  crumbles  away  in  time,  or  is 
eaten  by  rats,  thus  opening  another  road  for  the 
gases  of  the  container.  The  trap  of  the  water 
closet  is  another  source  of  annoyance  ;  it  must 
necessarily  accumulate  excremental  matter  (Fig.  2.),. 
as  the  valve  flush  is  not  sufficiently  strong  to  drive 
such  matter  through  the  dip  of  the  trap.  In  old 
houses  this  trap  is  often  of  the  worst  kind,  a  D-trap 
(Fig.  5),  which  in  a  short  time  becomes  a  filthy  cess- 


15 


pool  in  the  room.      The  pan 
is    quickly    corroded    by   the 
action  of  sewer  gas  from  the 
container,  and  thus  the  secur- 
ity of  the  double  waterseal  is 
lost,    and    the  bowl  loses  its 
water  and  becomes  more  read- 
ily  fouled    on   this    account. 
FIG.  5.— D-Trap.         The  floor  under  the  pan  closet 
may  be  provided  with  a  safe  to  catch  drippings, 
and  its  waste  pipe  is  in  many  cases  run  into  this 
trap,  below  its  water  line  (Fig.  6).     Thus  the  foul 

water  from  the  trap 
standing  back  in  the 
drip  pipe  will  evap- 
orate into  the  apart- 
ment. 

In  some  instances 
cheap    kind    of 
hopper,     generally 
of  iron,  is  used  for 

FIG.  6.— Drain  pipe  from  safe  under   aoi-vanta'      r»1rkcot<a 
water   closet  delivers  into  the  water   8ervantS        ClOSCtS, 
closet  trap.  and    ig    no    legs    ob_ 

jectionable  than  the. pan  closet,  its  flush  being  most- 
ly insufficient  to  keep  the  rough  inside  of  the  hopper 
free  from  excreta. 


FIG.  7.— Sectional  view  of  Kitchen  Sink,, 
with  Bell  Trap  and  Strainer. 


16 


The  kitchen  is  always  provided  with  a  sink, 
usually  of  iron,  but  sometimes  of  soapstone  or 
other  material,  connected  to  the  nearest  soil  or 
waste  pipe  by  a  branch  pipe  of  lead.  This  latter 
is,  as  a  rule,  too  large  in  diameter,  and  conse- 
quently accumulates  deposits.  It  frequently  joins 
the  soil  pipe  or  the  main  drain  without  even  the 
interposition  of  a  trap.  In  more  recently  built 
houses  the  outlet  of  the  sink  is  trapped,  but  this 
trap  is  either  faulty  in  design,  for  instance  a 
bell  trap,  or,  if  an  S-trap,  it  is  much  too  large  and 
consequently  ill-flushed.  Our  illustration  (Fig.  7), 
shows  a  sink  with  bell  trap,  forming  in  its 
upper  part  a  strainer.  As  the  latter  is  removable 


FIG.  8.  —Bell  Trap  with  Strainer  removed. 

in  most  houses,  kitchen  servants  readily  acquire 
the  pernicious  habit  of  lifting  it  to  brush  all  kind 
of  refuse  into  the  outlet.  They  hereby  not  only 
cause  frequent  obstructions  of  the  trap  and  waste 
pipe,  but  they  establish  a  direct  connection  between 
the  kitchen  and  the  gases  of  the  sink  waste  pipe, 
as  long  as  the  strainer  is  removed  from  its  place 
(Fig.  8).  In  older  houses  I  almost  always  find  the 
kitchen  sink,  encased  with  carpentry,  (Fig.  9.) — 
such  is  often  the  case  even  in  our  modern  homes — 
and  the  foul,  dark  space  underneath  the  sink  is 


utilized  for  the  storage  of  cooking  utensils,  kerosene 
cans,  cleaning  rags,  old  shoes,  scrubbing  brushes 
and  other  matters.  (Fig.  10.) 


FIG.  9.— Kitchen  Sink  fitted  with  wood-work. 

Laundry-tubs  in  the  laundry-room  or  kitchen  are 
most  always  of  wood,  and  contribute,  after  long 
use,  their  share  to  the  pollution  of  the  air  in  the 
house.  Wooden  tubs  are  objectionable,  not  only 
because  they  get  leaky,  but  because  wood  absorbs 
the  f  .th  of  soiled  linen,  and  is  difficult  to  clean  ; 


FIG.  10.— Filthy  condition  of  interior  space  underneath  kitchen 
sink. 


18 


consequently,  wooden  tubs,  when  old,  give  off  a 
very  offensive  odor.  Moreover,  they  are  generally 
closed  up  tightly  underneath,  and  the  floor  will  be 
ill  smelling  from  leakage  and  will  rot  in  time.  The 
trapping  of  laundry  wastes  is  also  frequently 
defective. 

The  copper  sink  in  the  'butler's  pantry  off  the 
dining-room  is  seldom,  if  ever,  free  from  defects. 
By  removing  the  boards  encasing  the  space  under 
the  sink,  we  will  find  a  large  reservoir  or  bottle 
trap  on  the  large  waste  pipe  (Fig.  11).  Ample  size 

of  both  was 
probably 
deemed  nec- 
essary by  the 
plumber  who 
did  the  work, 
to  prevent  the 
choking  up  of 

the  pipe  and 
FIG.   11.— Waste  and  overflow   pipes   from    ,  with 

pantry  sink  trapped  by  a  large   round  trap   1 1  a  p      W  1 
choked  with  grease.  grease.        But 

the  small  stream  from  the  pantry  sink  has  not  been 
able  thoroughly  to  flush  the  waste  pipe,  and  the 
bottle  trap,  placed  to  act  as  a  grease  trap,  which 
therefore  should  have  been  frequently  cleaned,  was 
forgotten,  not  being  easily  accessible,  and  left  to 
take  care  of  itself.  It  is  now  almost  filled  with 
putrid  grease,  the  sides  of  the  waste  pipe  are  coated 
with  a  similar  matter,  the  overflow  pipe  from  sink 
forms  also  a  channel  for  gases,  and  thus  has  the 
air  in  the  butler's  pantry  been  continually  contam- 
inated. 


19 


The  toilet-rooms  and  the  bath-rooms  contain 
further  fixtures,  which  the  plumber  and  carpen- 
ter took  particular  pains  to  enclose  with  tight  carpen- 
try (Fig.  11).  The  water  closet,  although  generally 
a  pan  closet  flushed  from  a  valve,  is  in  some  cases 
supplied  with  water  from  a  special  cistern,  or  else 
it  is  of  a  more  expensive  pattern,  either  a  valve 


FIG.  12.— Valve  Closet. 

closet  (Fig.  12)  or  a  plunger  closet  (Fig.  13).  But 
either  of  these  has  serious  defects,  and  although 
both  are  great  improvements  upon  the  pan  type, 
neither  will  in  the  end  prove  satisfactory.  The 
valve  of  valve  closets  leaks  after  long  use,  conse- 
quently the  water  will  run  out  of  the  bowl.  Should 
the  use  of  closet  be  continued  while  in  such  a 


20 


condition,  the  flap  valve  will  become  coated  with 
filth,  as  will  also  the  walls  of  the  container.  The 
same  coating  with  filth  occurs  in  time  with  the 
plunger  and  plunger  chamber  of  the  second  type 
of  closet  mentioned.  In  both  cases  decomposition 
of  organic  matter  will  go  on  within  the  walls  of 
the  house,  which  decomposition  it  is  the  object  of 
a  proper  system  of  house  drainage  to  prevent  by 
an  immediate  removal  of  all  waste  matter. 


FIG.  13.— Plunger  Closet. 

The  wash  bowls  and  bath  tubs,  as  well  as  their 
traps  and  waste  pipes,  are  seldom  properly  designed 
and  constructed.  Their  wastes  are  often  left  in 
direct  communication  with  a  soil  or  waste  pipe 
(Fig.  14),  in  other  cases  they  are  trapped  only  by 


21 


running  them  into  the  water  closet  trap  below  its- 
water  line  (Fig.  15).  If  this  trap  be  displaced  or 
its  contents  siphoned  out,  a  free  communication  is. 
established  between  the  soil  pipe  and  the  bath 
room.  If  the  wastes  enter  the  water  closet  trap 
above  the  water  line,  the  gases  of  the  container 
will  find  a  ready  exit  at  the  bath  or  bowl.  A  com- 
mon defect  of  bowls  and  bath  tubs  consists  in  their 
overflow  pipe  joining  the  waste  pipe  beyond  its 
trap  (Fig.  16).  And  even  where  overflow  and 

waste  pipe  are  both 
trapped  by  the  com- 
mon S-trap  (Fig.  17)> 
the  water  in  the  latter 
may  be  removed  by 
siphonage,  or  it  may 
evaporate,  should  the 
bowl  not  be  used  for 
some  time  (Fig.  18).. 
Where  the  soil  and 
*  waste  pipes,  into  which 

the  bowl  or  bath  tub 

FIG.  i4.-w.te  and  overflow  wastes  deliver,  have  DO- 
pipes  from  wash  bowl  in  direct  ventilation  by  being 
communication  with  soil  pipes.  extended  through  the 

roof,  it  may  happen  that  the  S-trap  is  forced  by 
back-pressure,  and  also  that  the  water  in  the  trap 
absorbs  gases  and  possibly  germs  of  disease,  which 
may  be  given  off  on  the  house  side  of  the  trap, 
that  is  into  the  room,  when  the  water  in  the  trap 
is  agitated. 

Stationary    wash   stands    have   either   common 
bowls  with  outlet  at  the  bottom,  closed  by  a 


22 


liung  to  a  brass  or  plated  safety  chain,  or  else  they 
are  of  the  "  tip-up  "  type,  in  which  case  the  bowl 
is  emptied  by  tilting  its  contents  into  a  larger 
concentric  bowl  underneath.  Both  arrangements 
are  apt  to  become  filthy  ;  soapsuds  remain  sticking 
to  the  many  links  of  the  chain,  which  is  difficult  to 
clean,  and  the  lower  bowl  of  a  tip-up  basin  presents 

generally,  upon 
investigation,  a 
far  from  satis- 
factory appear- 
ance. Being 
covered  and  not 
easily  accessi- 

FIG.  15.-Waste  and  overflow  pipes  from  ,  ,        .      . 
bath  trapped  by  running  into  water  closet   uie>   L 
trap  below  its  water  line.  cleaned,  and 

filth  gradually  accumulates  in  it,  and  its  putrefaction 
may  soon  cause  great  annoyance.  The  chain  and 
plug  arrangement  for  bath  tub  is  in  no  respect 
better  than  that  for  wash  bowls. 

Bad  smells  from  wash  bowls  or  bath  tubs  are 
occasionally  traced  to  the  overflow  pipe  of  either 
kind  of  fixture.  The  walls  of  such  pipes  remain 

coated,  should  an 
occasional  over- 
flow occur,  with 
slime,  and  receive 
no  flushing  what- 
ever. Generally  a 
very  long  length 
of  these  pipes  re- 

FiG.  16.— Waste  from  wash  bowl  trapped    mains  in  COmmU- 
froin  overflow  pipe  joining  waste  beyond 
trap.  mcation  with  the 


23 


room,  continually  to  foul  its  air.  For  these  reasons 
overflow  pipes  should  be  dispensed  with  wherever 
possible  ;  and  that  such  arrangement  can  often, 
though  not  always,  be  had,  will  be  shown  later. 

Stationary  bowls  and  tubs,  when  lined  with  a  safe 
to  prevent  damage  to  ceilings,  have  drip  pipes  to 
carry  off  overflowing  water  in  case  of  accidents. 
The  arrangement  of  such  drip  pipes  is  frequently 
deficient.  They  are  sometimes  in  direct  connection 
with  soil  or  waste  pipes  ;  in  other  cases  they  are 
trapped,  and  the  traps  become  ineffective  by  evap- 
oration of  the  water.  In  houses  of  a  more  recent 
construction  a  weeping  pipe  is  arranged  to  supply 
water  to  such  trap  at  frequent  inter- 
vals, but  even  such  a  device  is  unsatis- 
factory and  dangerous. 

A  fixture   common  to  office   rooms 
and  to  lavatories  or  toilet  rooms  ad- 
joining   billiard    rooms    in     private 
FIG.  17.— Com-  houses  is   the   urinal.     It   is    usually 
mon  s-trap.        jn  an  extremely  nasty  condition,  and 
its  appearance  most  unsightly,  owing  to  the  feeble 
flush  from  a  stop-cock,  which  is  unable  to  cleanse  the 
urinal.        Urine     remains     spattered 
on  the  bowl  and  is  sometimes  spilled 
on  the  floor,  and  its  rapid  decomposi- 
tion  creates  most  pungent   and  dis- 
gusting  odors.      Unless   of    an    ap- 
proved pattern,  with  plenty  of  water 
in    the    bowl,    and    with    a    strong 

FIG  18  -Water  ^us^  °^  water  driven  through  a  flush- 
seal  of   s-trap  ino.  rim  and  derived  from  a  cistern, 

lost  by  syphon-        ® 

age  or  evapora-  j   should   hesitate   to  recommend  a 
tion. 


24 

urinal  for  a  private  house.  The  improved  water 
closets,  of  which  I  shall  speak  hereafter,  can 
generally  be  so  constructed  and  put  up  as  to  be  used 
in  place  of  a  urinal. 

Our  remarks  have  thus  far  been  confined  to  the 
usual  arrangement  of  rooms  containing  plumbing 
fixtures,  and  to  the  condition  in  which  such  appar- 
atus is  frequently  discovered  to  be  upon  examina- 
tion of  houses  built  some  years  ago.     Just  here  the 
fact  should  be  mentioned  that  in  cities  where  plumb- 
ing work  is  now  regulated  by  law  and  controlled 
by  plumbing  inspectors  of  the  Board  of  Health,  a 
marked    influence  upon  the   quality  and   general 
character   of   the   plumber's   work   may  easily  be 
recognized.     It  is  somewhat  sad  to  think  that,  to 
secure  a  good,  safe  job  from  the  average  plumber, 
regulations  as  to  the  details  of  his  work  had  to  be 
drawn  up  by  the  city  health  authorities,  and  that  con- 
stant vigilance  is  necessary  to  secure  the  proper  car- 
rying out  of  these  regulations.  The  general  public,  in 
particular  the  vast  number  of  families  in  cities  who 
are   dependent   for   shelter   on   tenement    houses, 
apartments,  or  small  houses  built  for  speculation 
and  for  rent,  should  be  thankful  for  the  many  ben- 
efits derived  from  the  enforcement  of  such  plumb- 
ing regulations.     Briefly  stated,  bath  rooms  in  the 
center  of  the  house  are  now  always  located  near 
light  and  air  shafts.     Less  wood  wt>rk  is  used  in 
fitting  up  sinks  and  tubs  ;  water  closets  and  wash 
bowls  have  hinged  doors  to  render  possible  frequent 
inspections  of  hidden  parts  of  fixtures.     The  pan 
closet,  although  still  extensively  used,  is  supplied 
from  special  flushing  cisterns,  and  has  a  properly 


25 


vented  S-trap.  In  addition  to  this,  every  tub, 
bowl,  sink,  etc.,  is  provided  with  a  separate  vented 
trap. 

The  next  chapter  will  treat  of   soil  and  waste 
pipes  and  their  usual  defects. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SOIL   AND    WASTE   PIPE    SYSTEMS    AS  USUALLY  FOUND 
IN   DWELLINGS. 

TJ^AULTY  arrangement  of  soil  and  waste  pipes 
JL  in  dwellings  aggravates  the  danger  arising 
from  defective  plumbing  fixtures.  The  principal 
defects  to  be  considered  are  :  improper  material 
for  pipes,  bad  manner  of  making  pipe  joints,  insuf- 
ficient or  defective  ventilation  of  the  soil  and 
waste  pipe  system,  and  use  of  pipes  of  too  large 
calibre. 

I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  well-known  defects  of 
lead  soil  pipes  ;  although  still  the  rule  in  England, 
they  have,  fortunately,  in  this  country;  become  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  when  found  upon  examina- 
tion of  houses  built  years  ago  are  invariably  con- 
demned and  removed.  As  the  origin  of  lead  soil 
pipes  dates  back  from  the  time  when  ventilation  of 
waste  pipes  was  not  yet  practised,  they  are  found 
corroded  and  honey-combed  by  the  action  of  sewer 
gas  (See  Fig.  19).  Cast  iron  pipes  with  socket  joints 
have  since  then  taken  their  place.  They  are  sold  in 
lengths  of  five  feet,  with  a  single  or  double  hub,  and 
innumerable  fittings  are  manufactured  to  provide 
for  changes  of  direction,  for  branch  wastes,  etc. 
In  Fig.  20,  a.  represents  the  single  and  double  hub 
pipe,  b.  is  a  Y  branch,  c.  is  a  double  half-Y 
branch,  d.  is  a  quarter  bend  with  double  hubs,  e. 
an  eighth  bend,  f.  a  sixth  bend,  g.  an  increaser, 


fi.  a  T-branch,  t.  an  offset,  and  k.  a  long  quarter 
bend. 

In  ordinary  contract  work,  the 
plumber  always  uses  what  is 
called  "  light  soil  pipe,"  often  not 
even  protected  against  rust  by  a 
coating  of  coal  tar  pitch,  and 
therefore  a  very  flimsy  article  of 
manufacture,  which  should  not  be 
tolerated  wherever  sound  work  is 
expected.  This  pipe  is  condemned 
by  Mr.  James  C.  Bayles  in  his 
book  "  House  Drainage  and  Water 
Service"  in  the  following  words: 
"An  iron  soil  pipe  should  not  be 
too  light.  In  much  of  the  cheap 
work  of  the  time  the  pipe  used 
is  lighter  than  it  should  be.  I 
have  seen  pipe  set  up  in  houses 
which,  tested  with  callipers,  I 
have  found  to  be  not  more  than 
one-eighth  of  an  inch  thick.  The 
FIG.  l9.^Lead  soil  objections  to  this  kind  of  pipe 
?ideico^odnedlatb?are  numerous  and  important.  It 
does  not  possess  the  requisite 
strength,  it  is  too  quickly  eaten  through  by  rust, 
and  it  is  very  apt  to  have  sand  holes  and  other  im- 
perfections, which,  for  a  time,  may  afford  an  easy 
outlet  for  the  gases  of  the  sewer.  The  difference  in 
cost  between  light  pipe  and  that  of  suitable  thick- 
ness (a  quarter  of  an  inch  for  private  houses  and 
three-eighths  and  upward  where  there  is  a  long  line 
of  large  size  to  accommodate  a  continuous  outflow 


28 

of  considerable  volume)  is  not  great  enough  to 
make  the  economy  profitable." 

"In  architects'  specifications  we  seldom  find  a 
suitable  weight  of  iron  pipe  called  for.  Conse- 
quently the  principal  demand  is  for  very  cheap  and 
light  pipes.  As  made,  they  are  as  hard  as  chilled 
iron — owing  to  the  fact  that  they  are  cast  so  thin 
— and  about  as  brittle  and  difficult  to  cut  as  glass. 
If  dropped  they  crack  or  break,  and  are  utterly 
untrustworthy  at  all  times"  (The italics  are  mine). 

The  Sanitary  Engineer ',  in  commenting  upon  the 
lately  passed  Boston  plumbing  ordinance,  says  : 
"We  regret,  however,  that  all  lines  of  soil  pipe, 
and  the  fittings  on  it,  over  fifty  feet  in  length,  were 
not  required  to  be  the  standard  extra  heavy 
pipe,  which  is  one-fourth  inch  thick  ;  the  pipe 
specified  in  the  law  is  too  thin  for  the  high  build- 
ings now  being  erected.  The  additional  cost  of 
the  extra  heavy  pipe  is  only  for  the  value  of  the 
iron,  the  labor  being  the  same,  and  for  reasons 
often  stated  in  these  columns,  and  which  every 
plumber  knows,  it  should  not  be  for  a  moment 
considered  when  the  risks  to  be  avoided  are  taken 
into  account." 

The  better  grades  of  soil  pipe,  the  heavy  and 
extra  heavy  soil  pipe  and  fittings  in  the  market,  the 
price  of  which  is  about  double  that  of  light  pipe, 
are  usually  specified  only  for  public  or  other  large 
expensive  buildings. 

My  experience  with  extra  heavy  cast  iron  soil 
pipe  warrants  me  in  saying  that  even  the  latter  is 
very  often  decidedly  bad,  having  an  uneven  thick- 
ness of  metal,  and  consequently  being  in  its, 


1.  k. 

FIG.  20.— Cast  Iron  Plumbers'  Pipe  and  Fittings. 


30 

weakest  part  no  thicker  than  "  light  "  pipe.  As  in 
all  other  engineering  structures,  the  strength  and 
durability  of  a  system  of  drainage  should  be  de- 
termined by  the  strength  of  its  weakest  point,  and 
thus  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  extra  heavy 
soil  pipe  is  no  better,  although  more  costly,  than 
light  pipe,  as  long  as  the  manufacturer  takes  no 
pains  to  secure  a  uniform  thickness  of  the  metal. 
Plumbers'  soil  pipe  is  never  tested  at  the  works,  and 
sand  holes  or  flaws  are  a  common  occurrence,  and 
are  not  readily  detected  by  subsequent  inspection, 
especially  if  the  pipe  is  coated  with  tar  or  asphalt, 
or  enamelled.  An  equally  weak  point  with  plumb- 
ers' pipe  is  the  shape  and  strength  of  the  hub,  as 
from  it  depends  the  tightness  of  the  joints.  One 
of  the  worst  defects  in  plumbing  work  of  cheaply 
built  houses  is  the  manner  of  tightening  the  joints 
in  cast-iron  soil  pipe. 

No  other  part  of  a  common  plumbing  job  shows 
so  many  defects  as  a  stack  of  iron  soil  or  waste 
pipe  ;  there  is  scarcely  another  detail  in  a  system 
of  drain  pipes  for  a  dwelling  in  which  so  much 
rascality  or  criminal  stupidity  is  shown  than  in  the 
manner  of  making  joints  in  iron  pipe,  and  this  is 
especially  the  case  wherever  architects  or  builders 
tolerate  such  pipes  to  be  built  into  walls,  inasmuch 
as  under  such  circumstances  defective  joints  are 
readily  covered  up  and  brought  out  of  sight. 
Such  pipes  are  often  jointed  with  paper,  covered 
with  sand,  or  else  some  cheap  mortar  is  thrown 
into  the  space  between  spigot  and  socket ;  in  other 
cases  putty  is  used,  or  red  lead.  Wherever  joints 
are  in  sight  some  lead  is  perhaps  poured  on  top 


31 


of  the  sand  to  give  the  joint  the  appearance  of 
having  been  done  with  the  proper  material.  Other 
workmen  are  content  with  filling  the  joint  with 

lead  poured  in  hot, 
omitting  the  most 
important  operation, 
that  of  caulking  the 
joints  after  the  lead 
has  cooled  off.  But 
even  where  a  gasket 
of  hemp  or  oakum, 
a  ladle  full  of  hot  lead 
and  caulking  tools  are 
used,  carelessness  or 
ignorance  of  the  me- 
chanic have  much  to 
do  with  improper  and 
leaky  joints.  The  man- 
ner of  applying  the 
gaskets  of  oakum,  the 
quality  of  the  melted 
lead,  its  purity,  the 

FIG.  21.— sketch  showing  com-  temperature  to   which 
parative     strength     of    hubs    of    •  ,     •      i    ,   .     .       ., 
plumbers'  pipe  and  gas  pipe.  I*    IS    Kept    in   the    pot 

A-Piumbers'  pipe.   B.-Gas  pipe.  on  the  fire>  fae  manner 

of  pouring  the  lead,  and  finally  the  operation  of 
caulking  it  after  shrinking,  these  are  all  details 
worthy  of  careful  consideration,  but  unluckily,  sel- 
dom looked  after  in  plumbing  a  dwelling. 

It  would  not  require  much  reflection  on  the  part 
of  the  mechanic  to  know  that  the  safety  of  the 
occupants  of  a  house  must  depend  to  a  great  extent 
upon  the  perfect  tightness  of  all  joints  in  waste 


32 


pipes.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  health  of  th& 
inmates  is  not  a  matter  usually  considered  by  the 
speculative  builder  or  the  average  plumber.  Joints 
in  cast-iron  soil  pipe  could  be  made  tight, — if  the 

thickness  of 
the  pipe  hubs 
would  be  in- 
creased, if  the 
pipe  would  be 
carefully  se- 
lected, inspect- 
ed, and  tested 
with  hydraulic 
pressure  be- 
fore leaving 
the  foundry, 
or  at  any  rate 
before  coating 
the  pipes  with 
a  rust  prevent- 
-~~  ing  solution, — 
but  even  then 
it  would  re- 
good  deal  of  attention 
Unless  the  Board  of 


FIG.  23.— Sketch  showing  method  of  apply- 
ing the  water  pressure  test. 


quire  proper  care  and 
in  making  the  joints. 
Health  regulations  require  the  testing  of  all  soil 
pipes  in  new  buildings  under  the  supervision  of 
inspectors  appointed  by  the  Board,  or  unless  an 
expert  engineer  superintends  the  drainage  work 
in  a  dwelling,  care  is  seldom,  if  ever,  taken  to  at- 
tain such  results.  If  the  subsequent  testing  of  soil 
and  waste  pipes  shows  a  leakage,  the  plumber  is 
very  apt  to  excuse  himself  by  throwing  all  blame 


33 


upon  the  manufacturer.     He  will  claim,  and  I  have 

frequently  heard 
the  statement 
made,  that  the  lat- 
ter does  not  manu- 
facture pipes  with 
hubs  of  sufficient 
strength  to  with- 
stand the  severe 
knocking  occas 
ioned  by  the  caulk- 
ing tool.  This,  I 
admit,  is  true,  but 
it  cannot  be  con- 
sidered a  valid  reas- 
on for  not  making 
tight  joints.  I  be- 
lieve that  if  plumb- 
ers would  join  in 
the  earnest  protest 
of  the  best  archi- 

FIG.  23.— Soil  pipe  from  water  closet  ..      ... 

trap  to  the  sewer  without   extension  tects    and    Civil  en- 
through  the  roof.  No  fresh  air  pipe  and 
no  trap  on  main  drain.  gineers     against 

such  "  light  soil  pipe,"  or  against  extra  heavy  pipe 
with  uneven  thickness  of  metal  or  hubs  of  insuffi- 
cient strength,  they  would  be  able  to  secure  a  better 
article  of  manufacture. 

It  has  been  my  personal  observation  that  honest 
and  conscientious  plumbers — with  best  possible 
intentions  to  do  only  first-class  work — were  fre- 
quently unable  to  caulk  the  lead  of  joints  sufficiently 
tight  without  splitting  the  hub  of  the  pipe.  In  other 
cases  the  joint  could  not  be  made  tight  owing  to 


34 


•the  impossibility  of  reaching  all  parts  of  the  lead 

in  a  joint  with 
the  usual  caulk- 
ing tools,  the 
soil  pipe  being 
located  in  a  re- 
cess or  a  par- 
tition. 

That  cast- 
iron  socket 
pipes  can  be 
tightly  jointed 
will  be  at  once 
apparent  by  re- 
ferring to  gas 
and  water 
mains.  In  the 
one  case  leak- 
age of  illu- 

FiG.  24.— Soil  pipes  and  waste  pipes  with-  minating     gas, 

and  inthe  other 

waste  of  water,  can  be  effectually  prevented  by 
properly  made  joints.  A  comparison  with  water 
pipes  would,  perhaps,  be  considered  unfair,  as 
these  are  expected  to  stand  much  heavier  inside 
pressures  than  a  soil  pipe  of  most  houses,  when 
tested  by  water  pressure.  The  pressure  in  gas 
mains  is,  however,  very  slight,  seldom  exceeding 
one  or  two  pounds  per  square  inch.  Let  us  then 
compare  the  common  plumbers'  pipe  with  the  pipe 
used  for  conveying  illuminating  gas.  Fig.  21 
shows  a  cross  section  through  the  bells  of  heavy 
plumbers'  pipe  and  of  gas  pipe.  It  will  be  readily 


35 


admitted  that  the  hub  B  is  designed  to  resist  strong 
knocking  by  the  mechanic's  tool,  while  the  hub  A  is 
apparently  weak  and  therefore  frequently  broken. 
Tightness  of  joints  may  easily  be  tested  and  de- 
fects in  the  piping  detected  by  the  "  water  pres- 
sure test."  Before  setting  and  joining  any  fixtures 
to  the  soil  and  waste  pipes,  all  its  outlets  are 
closed  by  india  rubber  plugs,  squeezed  with  iron 
discs  by  means  of  a  bolt  and  nut,  and  the  pipes  filled 

with  water,  Fig. 22. 
Should  there  be 
a  leak  it  is  readily 
detected  and  should 
be  immediately 
remedied.  The  test 
is  then  repeated 
until  there  are  no 
more  signs  of  a 
leak.  For  very 
high  buildings,  for 
instance  the  flats 
now  being  erected 
in  many  parts  of 
New  York  city,  the 
head  of  water 
would  become  too 
great,  and  in  such 
case  the  pipes  are 
tested  in  sections. 

FIG.  25.— Soil  pipe  ventilated  by  a  pipe  rro,' 

of  insufficient  size,  extended  up  to  the    IhlS     test      IB     Un- 
doubtedly    more 

useful  than  the  peppermint  or  smoke  test ;  it  is 
easily  applied,  and  is  one  of  the   most  important 


36 

things  in  connection  with  the  plumbing  of  dwell- 
ings. It  is  very  desirable  that  it  should  be  more 
frequently  applied  by  the  Plumbing  Inspector  of 
the  Health  Board  in  cities  where  plumbing  is  re- 
gulated by  law  than  is  done  now;  for  a  house  with 
a  network  of  waste  pipes,  that  have  successfully 
stood  this  test,  is  a  much  safer  place  for  human 
beings  than  most  houses  of  the  present  day. 
Under  the  heading,  "  Testing  Soil  and  Waste 

Pipes  by  Pressure," 
the  editor  of  the 
"Metalworker"  has 
recently  given  his 
opinion  as  follows: 

"We  suppose  that  no 
one  who  has  had  oc- 
casion to  inspect 
plumbing  •work  in 
houses  already  com- 
pleted, has  not  many 
a  time  felt  a  strong 
desire  for  some  means 
which  should  enable 
him  to  determine 
whether  a  given  line 
of  pipe  was  sound  or 
leaky.  In  our  own 
experience  recently, 
we  met  a  case  of  this 

FIG.  26.—  Soil  pipe  extended  full  size  kind,  in  which  it  was 
through  the  roof  for  ventilation,  but  almn«f   imTwacjiKlA  Ivu- 

aimost   imossibli     b 


of  improper  material  and  with  def  ec- 

tive  joints  above  the  water  closet  trap,  ordinary    methods  to 

make   ourselves     cer- 

tain in  regard  to  the  condition    of    several    lines  of 
soil  and  waste   pipe.      The    houses  were  so  arranged 


37 


that  the  soil  pipes  cannot  be  opened  for  inspection 
through  their  whole  lengths,  and  even  the  most  careful 
peppermint  test  will  not  give  all  the  information  that  is 
desirable.  A  pipe  may  be  tight  and  apparently  sound, 
yet  of  so  thin  a  substance  that  the  least  pressure  will 
destroy  it  or  break  it  through.  Joints  may  be  tight  at 
the  moment,  though  barely  filled  with  a  thin  coating  of 
putty,  blown  out  almost  at  a  single  breath.  Such  pipes, 
though  tight  for  the  moment,  are  not  safe  against  the 
slightest  pressure,  and  at  any  time  may  be  liable  to  have 
their  continuity  broken  by  a  slight  jar." 

"  The  longer  we  study  this  subject  the  more  completely 
do  we  become  convinced  that  the  true  remedy  for  this 
state  of  things  is  a  test  of  the  soil  pipes  by  pressure. 
Scamping  is  so  easily  done  and  so  difficult  of  detection 
that  it  seems  impossible  to  avoid  it,  even  in  the  best  jobs 
which  may  be  constructed.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
work  is  done  in  difficult  situations,  where  the  workman 
has  every  temptation  to  save  himself  labor  and  discom- 
fort, and  in  such  situations  poor  work  is  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception."  (The  italics  are  mine).  *  * 
*  *  *  «  r^  real  objection  to  such  a  test  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  it  calls  for  perfect  workman- 
ship throughout.  It  demands  just  what  every  house 
builder  and  house  owner  wishes  to  have,  but  just  what 
it  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  from  even  the  best  plumbing 

establishments  in  the 
city.  In  gas  fitting, 
which  is  much  less 
difficult  than  plumb- 
ing work,  no  sane 
man  would  dare  to 
trust  a  large  job  with- 
out carefully  testing 
it  under  pressure.  We 
do  not  think  that  it 
will  be  many  years 

before  the  method  of 
FIG.  27.— Top  of  soil  pipe  covered  A 
with  return  bend  or  ventilating  cap.      testing     by     pressure 


38 


will  be  made  a  requirement  in  the  best  jobs  of  plumbing 
work." 

In  a  previous  chapter,  lack  of  ventilation  was 
recognized  as  a  serious  defect  of  plumbing  fixtures 
and  their  apartments.  Not  less  serious  is  the 
insufficient  ventilation  of  soil  and  waste  pipes. 
There  are  still  thousands  of  houses  in  every  large 
city  where  soil  pipes  have  no  air  circulation  what- 
ever, but  stop  at  the  trap  of  the  highest  water 
closet,  and  where  waste  pipes  are  run  only  from 
the  drain  in  the  cellar  to  the  fixtures,  such  as  sinks, 

tubs,  bowls,  etc., 
without  upward  ex- 
tension (See  Figs. 
23  and  24).  In 
many  cases  the 
plumber  thinks  that 
he  has  provided  a 
sufficient  ventilation 
by  running  a  small 
(1-J  or  2  inch)  vent 
pipe  through  the 
roof  (See  Fig.  25). 
In  a  few  cases  only 
is  the  extension  of 
the  soil  pipe  of  the 
full  size  of  the  pipe. 
That  this  ventilat- 
ing  extension  should 

be  of  the    same   ma- 
of 


FIG.  38.— Proper  method  of  ventila- 
ting a  soil  pipe. 


pipes  are  made  is  a 
by  skin  plumbers. 


rule  which  is  often  violated 
Galvanized  iron  or  tin  pipes 


39 

are  frequently  run  from  the  highest  water  closet 
upward  through  the  roof,  the  joints  being  im- 
perfectly closed  or  not  made  at  all,  the  pipes 
being  simply  slipped  one  into  another  (See  Fig. 
26).  To  illustrate,  I  quote  from  a  late  issue  of 
the  "Metalworker:" 

"A  few  days  ago  a  friend  in  the  trade  called  my  at- 
tention to  one  of  the  most  startling  instances  of  rascally 
plumbing  of  which  I  have  ever  heard.  A  friend  of  his, 
living  in  Brooklyn,  was  troubled  with  bad  odors  in  his 
house  and  sickness  in  his  family.  He  was  advised  to 
determine  whether  his  soil  pipe  was  tight,  and  the  use 
of  peppermint  was  suggested.  Some  was  procured,  and 
the  householder  went  to  the  roof  for  the  purpose  of 
pouring  it  down  the  soil  pipe  through  the  projecting  ex- 
tension. His  wife  and  others  were  stationed  at  different 
points  in  the  house  to  see  if  they  could  detect  the  smell 
of  peppermint  at  any  of  the  fixtures.  As  they  were- 
unable  to  do  so,  it  seemed  as  if  the  test  had  failed  to 
show  any  defects  in  the  pipe  system,  but  in  a  few 
minutes  all  the  oil  of  peppermint  which  had  been 
poured  down  the  pipe  came  through  the  ceiling  of  one 
of  the  bedrooms  on  the  highest  floor,  and  dripped  down 
upon  the  carpet.  Examination  revealed  the  fact  that 
the  supposed  ventilating  extension  of  the  soil  pipe 
above  the  roof  was  a  mere  sham.  The  plumber  had  put 
on  a  length  of  pipe  and  secured  it  in  an  upright  posi- 
tion, but  it  had  no  connection  whatever  with  the  soil 
pipe  of  the  house.  In  the  four  houses  immediately 
adjoining,  all  of  which  were  built  under  the  same  con- 
tract, the  same  condition  of  affairs  was  found." 

Even  where  the  extension  of  the  soil  pipe  is  of 
proper  size  and  material,  its  object  is  often  de- 
feated by  a  ventilating  cover  or  hood  or  return 
bend  placed  on  top  of  mouth  of  pipe,  which 
greatly  impedes  ventilation  (Fig.  27). 


40 


All  these  attempts  at  establishing  an  air  current 
are  futile,  unless  a  second  opening  for  fresh  air  is 
provided  at  the  foot  of  the  iron  soil  pipe.  With 
two  openings  of  the  full  size  of  soil  pipe  a  con- 
stant current  and  dilution  of  the  air  in  the  pipe, 
and  a  destruction  of  organic  matter  coating  the 
inner  walls  of  pipes  is  effected  (See  Fig.  28). 

It  is  a  mistake  to  place  any  ventilator  over  the 
mouth  of  soil  or  waste  pipes.  While  some  cowls 
may  act  very  efficiently  with  certain  directions  of 
the  wind,  it  is  now  believed  that  for  the  usual 
direction  of  the  wind  a  plain  open-mouthed  tube 
affords  greatest  upward  movement  in  vertical  pipes. 
Great  carelessness  is  often  shown  in  the  location 
of  the  fresh  air  pipe  as  well  as  of  the  soil  pipe  mouth. 
The  former  should  be  remote  from  windows,  and 
the  latter  not  too  near  any  skylight,  air  shaft  or 
chimney  top. 

Fig.  29  illustrates  how  sewer 
gas  may  be  carried  down  a  chim- 
ney flue  and  enter  the  dwelling 
through  fire  places,  if  propor  care 
is  not  taken  to  locate  the  soil 
pipe  mouth  remote  from  and  at 
least  a  few  feet  below  chimney 
tops  ;  down  drafts  in  chimney 
flues  or  ventilating  shafts  are 
known  to  occur  at  times,  and 
may  thus  be  the  cause  of  annoy- 
ing gases  in  rooms. 

Fig.  30  shows  a  soil  pipe  term- 
mating  above  the  roof  close  to  a 
mansard  roof  window,  perhaps  of 


a  chimney  top. 


41 


an  attic  dormitory.     The  injudiciousness  of  such 
location  is  quite  apparent. 


Fia.  30.— A  soil  pipe  terminating  near  attic  window. 

Experience  has  also  clearly  demonstrated  the  need 

of  enlarging  the  extension  of  smaller  waite  pipes  to 

four  inches  diameter  (Fig.  31),  for  smaller  openings 

above  the  roof   become  frequently  obstructed   in 


FIG.  31.— Waste  pipe  enlarged  at  roof. 

cold  climates  by  hoar  frost,  and  thus  the  purpose 
of  the  pipe  extension  is  practically  annihilated. 


42 

It  is  a  common  mistake  with  plumbers  and 
builders  to  make  the  soil  and  waste  pipes  unneces- 
sarily large.  Soil  pipes  of  5  or  even  6  inches 
diameter  are  used  where  a  4-inch  pipe  would  be 
ample  to  carry  off  all  the  waste  water  that  could 
be  discharged  into  it.  Such  a  pipe  is  sufficient  for 
dozens  of  water  closets  on  the  same  or  on  different 
floors.  In  my  own  practice  I  never  use  a  soil  pipe 
larger  than  4  inches  diameter,  and  where  only  one 
water  closet  has  to  be  served  I  should  not  hesitate 
to  use  a  3-inch  pipe,  provided  I  could  rely  upon  a 
judicious  use  of  the  closet  and  upon  constant  use 
of  the  now  universal  toilet  paper,  and  provided 
also  the  traps  on  waste  pipes  connected  to  the 
3 -inch  soil  pipe  are  efficiently  protected  against 
siphonage.  Where,  on  the  other  hand,  water 
closets  are  subjected  to  rough  treatment  and  are 
made  the  receptacles  of  all  sorts  of  rubbish,  not 
properly  belonging  thereto,  I  fail  to  see  the  wis- 
dom of  using  a  larger  pipe,  say  of  5  or  6  inches 
bore,  as  under  such  conditions  obstructions  are  just 
as  likely  to  happen  with  large  as  with  small 
pipes.  The  right  remedy  would  seem  to  me  to 
be  to  teach  people  the  proper  and  judicious  use  of 
such  fixtures.  Where  vertical  waste  pipes  are 
required  to  receive  the  water  from  sinks,  bowls  and 
tubs,  located  at  a  distance  from  the  soil  pipe,  expe- 
rience has  proven  a  2 -inch  pipe  sufficiently  large  ; 
pipes  of  larger  sizes  will  always  remain  imperfectly 
flushed,  and  therefore  become,  in  time,  extremely 
foul. 

Mr.  Hellyer  discusses  this  question  in  his  "  Lec- 
tures on  the  Science  and  Art  of  Sanitary  Plumbing,'* 


43 


^under  the  heading  of  "  Size  of  Soil  pipes,"  as  fol- 
lows : 

"About  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  it  was  common 
for  plumbers  to  fix  (under  the  direction  of  a  specifica- 
tion) a  6  inch  soil  pipe  when  it  had  to  take  the  branches 
of  four  or  five  water  closets,  and  with  many  architects 
and  builders,  as  well  as  the  plumbers,  of  to-day,  5  inch 
and  4i  inch  are  the  general  sizes,  and  that  too  for  only 
one  water  closet. 

Now,  as  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  soil  pipe 
should  be  efficiently  flushed  out  with  water  every  time 
a  water  closet  upon  it  is  used,  it  is  evident  that  the 
smaller  the  size  of  the  pipe  the  more  efficiently  will  it 
be  flushed,  and  as  it  is  not  wanted  for  a  coal-shoot  or  a 
dust-shaft,  I  cannot  see  why  it  should  be  so  much  larger 
than  the  outlet-way  of  the  water  closet  into  it.  In  pri- 
vate houses,  where  the  water  closets  would  be  used  with 
greater  care  than  in  public  buildings,  I  consider  3£  inch 
lead  soil  pipe*  quite  large  enough  to  take  a  tier  of  three 
or  four  water  closets.  I  am  supposing  the  soil  pipe  to 
be  ventilated  at  top  and  bottom,  and  each  trap  or  branch 
ventilated  as  well.  I  consider  4  inch  soil  pipe,  when  of 
lead,  and  made  by  hydraulic  pressure,  large  enough  to 
take  the  branches  from  several  more  water  closets,  and 
4£  inch  soil  pipe  is  ample  to  take  a  tier  of  six  or  seven  dou- 
ble closets,  fixed  over  each  other  in  a  seven-storied  build- 
ing, for  though  many  of  them  might  be  used  together  they 
would  not  be  discharged  precisely  at  the  same  moment 
of  time,  and  one  or  two  seconds  would  suffice,  in  a  ver- 
tical soil  pipe,  for  the  discharges  to  keep  clear  of  each 
other,  and  if  they  did  mingle  it  would  not  so  much  mat- 
ter, so  long  as  the  traps,  by  efficient  ventilation,  were 
made  proof  against  any  disturbance  that  could  take 
place  by  the  simultaneous  use  of  all  the  closets  upon  the 
piping.  I  have  had  3£  inch  lead  soil  pipes  fixed  to  the 

*  Mr.  Hellyer,  following  the  usual  English  custom, 
.prefers  lead  as  material  for  soil  pipes. 


44 


tiers  of  three  and  four  water  closets,  but  have  never 
known  the  smallest  inconvenience  from  such  an  ar- 
rangement, while  the  pipes,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  see,  have  kept  cleaner  than  4|  inch  soil  pipes  near 
them — i.  e.,  under  the  same  conditions. 

In  public  buildings — as  warehouses,  hotels,  banking 
houses,  stations,  club-houses,  etc. — the  soil  pipe  ought, 
perhaps,  to  be  larger — say  4  inch,  but  I  consider  4  inch 
(or  4£  inch)  large  enough  for  any  place  and  for  any 
number  of  closets. 

In  many  places,  with  efficient  water  service,  3  inch 
soil  pipes  might  be  fixed  for  single  water  closets  without 
any  risk  of  stoppage." 

Mr.  Hellyer  also  mentions  that  he  fixed  in  his 
factory  for  the  use  of  the  workmen  a  3  inch  soil 
pipe,  with  branches  for  three  water  closets,  a 
Hellyer  Valve  Closet,  a  Hellyer  Vortex  and  a 
Hellyer  Artisan  Hopper  Closet,  and  the  size  is 
found  to  be  quite  large  enough,  though  the  closets 
are  rarely  ever  idle  during  the  working  hours. 

The  effect  of  the  official  supervision  of  plumb- 
ing regarding  soil  and  waste  pipes  shows  itself 
more  in  the  improved  ventilation  than  in  the 
material  and  jointing  of  such  pipes.  Frequent 
inspections  of  the  work,  especially  if  it  is  done  by- 
contract,  will  render  impossible  cases  of  scamping, 
such  as  the  following,  related  by  the  editor  of  the- 
"Metalworker"  : 

"When  work  has  to  be  given  to  the  lowest  bidder,, 
without  regard  to  his  honesty  or  responsibility,  care- 
lessness in  the  drawing  of  specifications  is  attended  with 
very  serious  danger.  In  a  house  which  I  know  of,  the 
fact  that  the  soil  pipe  was  merely  carried  about  a  foot 
under  the  cellar  floor  and  left  open,  with  absolutely  no 
connection  with  the  sewer,  was  not  discovered  until  the 


45 

insufferable  smell  in  the  cellar  revealed  the  fact  that  all 
the  foulness  which  had  been  discharged  from  the  house 
since  it  was  first  occupied  had  accumulated  in  the  pipe, 
and  soaked  into  the  earth  of  the  cellar  bottom.  The 
plumber  claimed  that  the  specification  on  which  he 
made  his  bid  did  not  call  for  a  sewer  connection.  Of 
course  he  knew  that  it  ought  to  have  been  made,  but 
when  required  to  bid  below  the  cost  of  honest  work,  he 
considered  himself  perfectly  at  liberty  to  take  advan- 
tage of  any  omission  in  the  specifications." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TRAPS    AND    SYSTEMS    OF    TBAPPING. 


BY  extending  all  soil  and  waste  pipes  at  least 
•  full  size  through  the  roof,  and  providing  an 
inlet  for  fresh  air  on  the  line  of  the  house  drain,  we 
have  established  a  circulation  of  air  through  the 
waste  pipe  system.  (Fig.  32).  The  system  shown  in 
the  sketch  is,  however,  still  imperfect.  Although 
it  is  a  common  occurrence  to  find  waste  pipes  of 
dwelling  houses  thus  arranged,  some  further  provi- 
sions are  required  to  render  the  system  complete. 
No  amount  of  ventilation  would  suffice  to  keep  the 
air  pure  in  houses  having  a  drainage  system  ar- 
ranged on  the  plan  shown  in  Fig.  32.  Sewer  air 
would  penetrate  them  from  cellar  to  attic,  satu- 
rating bedding,  upholstery,  carpets,  furniture,  wall 
papers,  causing  loss  of  strength  and  health  of  the 
occupants,  and  frequently  breeding  disease,  or  even 
causing  the  death  of  some  beloved  member  of  the 
household. 

The  reason  why  such  an  arrangement  of  the 
pipes  is  defective  is  quite  obvious.  Should  the 
house  drain  deliver  into  a  cesspool  or  connect  to  a 
sewer  in  the  street,  it  affords,  in  both  cases,  a 
chance  for  escape  of  generally  very  foul  gases  into 
the  house  pipes.  But  in  addition  to  such  gases 
from  the  sewer  or  cesspool,  the  soil  and  waste 
pipes  of  every  house  contain  more  or  less  foul  air 


47 

(improperly  called  "sewer"  gas),  derived  from 
decomposing  waste  matters  adhering  to  and  coating 
the  inside  of  the  waste  pipes.  With  the  arrange- 


Fio  32— Soil  pipe  extended  full  size  through  roof;  fresh  air 
inlet  at  foot,  but  no  traps  under  fixtures  or  on  the  main  drain. 

ment  shown,  soil  pipe  air,  as  well  as  cesspool  or 
sewer  gases,  would  find  a  ready  outlet  through  the 
branch  waste  pipes  and  fixtures  into  the  room.  To 
prevent  this  some  barrier  ought  to  be  placed  on 
waste  pipes  and  drains,  which  allows  the  foul  water 
to  run  off,  at  the  same  time  making  it  impossible 
for  gases  to  return  through  such  channels.  This  is 
what  is  commonly  called  "  trapping "  a  drain  or 


48 

waste  pipe,  and  the  following  remarks  will  be 
chiefly  devoted  to  traps.  The  simplest  trap  is  a 
bend  in  the  pipe  (Fig.  33),  retaining  sufficient  water 
to  "form  a  seal."  It  must 
be  admitted  that  every  trap 
is,  to  a  certain  extent,  an 
obstruction  to  the  free  flow 
of  water,  and  brings  with  it 
the  danger  of  occurrence  of 

FIG.  33.— Siphon,  or  run-     ..  .  _ 

ningtrap.  deposits  and  consequent  de- 

composition of  organic  waste  matter,  but  in  a 
system  of  house  drainage  traps  are  necessary  evils. 
First  in  importance  is  the  proper  trapping  of  all 
fixtures  of  a  dwelling.  Each  water  closet,  urinal, 
slop  sink,  wash  bowl,  bath  tub,  sink  and  set  of 
laundry  tubs  should  be  separately  trapped  as  near 
to  the  fixture  as  possible  by  a  reliable  trap.  Im- 
properly trapped  or  untrapped  fixtures  are  fully  as 
much,  if  not  more  BO,  the  cause  of  bad  and  un- 
healthy odors  in  dwellings  as  improper  and 
defective  joints  in  soil  pipes. 

If,  then,  we  put  a  trap  under  each  and  every 
plumbing  appliance  (Fig.  34),  it  still  remains  our 
duty  to  prevent  any  escape  of  foul  gases  of  the 
sewer  or  cesspool,  into  the  soil  and  waste  pipes, 
or  at  the  opening  A,  which  is  intended  to  act  as 
an  inlet  for  fresh  air.  Waste  pipes,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  always  contain  more  or  less  foul  air,  which 
should  be  diluted  and  rendered  harmless  as  much 
as  possible  by  introducing  into  the  pipes  a  constant 
current  of  pure  air.  A  trap  should,  therefore,  be 
placed  on  the  line  of  the  house  drain,  between  the 
fresh  air  pipe  A  and  the  sewer  or  cesspool.  (See 


49 


Fig.  35).  The  opening  at  A  will  now  almost  con- 
tinually act  as  an  inlet,  except  when  a  discharge 
through  a  soil  pipe  occurs,  at  which  time  the  cur- 
rent may,  for  a  short  time,  be  reversed.  As  long 


FIG.  84.— Soil  pipe  extended  full  size,  and  provided  with  foot 
yentilation ;  each  fixture  In  the  house  trapped  by  a  trap,  >  ut  no 
trap  on  the  main  drain. 

as  such  inlet  is  judiciously  located,  remote  from 
windows  or  piazzas,  or  the  cold  air  box  of  the  heat- 
ing apparatus,  a  downward  current  through  the 
soil  pipe  is  unobjectionable. 

Much  diversity  of  opinion  exists  in  regard  to  the 
necessity  of  trapping  the  main  drain  and  the  fixtures.. 


50 


There  are  experienced  men  who  claim  that  the  fresh 
air  pipe  A  and  the  trap  on  the  main  drain  should  be 


FIG.  35.— House  drain  trapped  by  a  running  trap ;  fresh  air  pipe 
on  house  side  of  trap ;  trap  under  each  fixture ;  soil  pipe  ex- 
tended full  size  above  the  roof. 

omitted,  leaving  the  soil  pipe  to  draw  its  supply 
of  air  for  circulation  from  the  sewer,  (Fig.  36). 
While  this  would  undoubtedly  help  to  ventilate 
the  sewer,  I  have  sincere  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  a  more  general  application  of  such  a  system.  I 
should  certainly  condemn  it  severely  wherever  a 
house  drain  discharges  into  a  cesspool,  which  is 
.always  more  or  less  foul.  It  would  also  be  wrong, 


51 


in  my  opinion,  wherever  the  street  sewer  is  known 
to  be  so  foul  as  to  constitute  an  "elongated  cesspool." 
With  well  jointed  pipes  and  well-trapped  fixtures  it 
may  be  possible  to  allow  well  constructed  and 


FIG.  36.— Fixtures  trapped  and  soil  pipe  extended  full  size 
above  the  roof,  but  house  drain  left  in  direct  connection  with 
sewer  or  cesspool. 

copiously  flushed  sewers  to  breathe  through  the 
house  pipes,  but  up  to  the  present  day  such  work, 
as  regards  both  the  drainage  arrangements  of 
dwellings  and  the  construction  of  sewers,  has  been 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

Where  a  house  drain  of  a  single  house  empties 
into  a  river  or  lake  or  into  the  sea,  and  the  distance 


from  the  house  to  the  outlet  is  moderate,  the  trap 
on  the  main  drain  may  be  omitted,  always  suppos- 

55 


ing  the  work  in  the  house  to  be  done  in  the  most 
approved  and  perfect   manner,    to  be  thoroughly 


53 

inspected  from  time  to  time,  and  the  drain  to  be  of 
proper  material,  laid  with  ample  fall,  and  securely 
and  tightly  jointed.  Should  the  outlet  be  located 
so  as  to  be  closed  at  times,  by  high  tide  or  other- 
wise, it  is  necessary  to  construct  a  fresh  air  inlet  A, 
entering  the  drain  just  above  the  highest  possible 
water  level.  (Fig.  37). 

In  the  majority  of  cases  however,  my  decided 
preference  is  for  "disconnection"  or  complete 
isolation  of  each  dwelling  from  the  cesspool  or  the 
common  sewer.  Mr.  Mansergh,  a  civil  engineer  of 
large  experience,  ably  discusses  this  question  as 
follows : 

"  I  would  detach  as  far  as  is  practicable  every  house 
from  the  main  sewer.  As  a  part  of  a  whole  sewerage 
system,  every  single  house  is  brought  more  or  less  closely 
in  connection  with  every  other  house,  and  by  this  means 
evils  existing  in  some  houses  may  become  common  to  all. 
The  more  perfectly  this  connection  can  be  severed  the 
better.  The  aim  in  all  cases  should  be  to  isolate  as  far  as 
possible,  but  at  all  events  to  cut  off  the  direct  commu- 
nication to  the  interior." 

The  "Model  Bye-Laws  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  of  England"  require  a  suitable  trap 
to  be  placed  in  every  main  drain  of  a  building, 
and  add  the  following  explanatory  note  : 

"The  object  of  this  clause  is  to  prevent  foul  air,  as 
from  public  sewers,  from  making  its  way  into  house 
drains.  Public  sewers  ought  to  be  ventilated  otherwise 
than  through  house  drains,  the  more  so  as  it  is  in  the 
power  of  householders  to  ensure  the  efficiency  of  their 
own  drains,  but  they  are  unable  to  control  faulty  con- 
struction leading  to  deposit,  etc.,  in  public  sewers.  It 
is  also  only  by  the  adoption  of  such  a  clause  that  houses 
can  be  protected  against  the  influence  of  infectiouF 


54 


matters  received  into  the  common  sewers.  In  a  similar 
way  buildings  should  be  protected  against  foul  air  from 
cesspools  when  such  means  of  drainage  outfall  have  to 
be  adopted." 

It  has  also  repeatedly  been  proposed  to  leave  out 
the  traps  under  fixtures,  sometimes  substituting 
for  the  traps  a  downward  draft  through  the  fixtures  by 
connecting  them  with  a  heated  flue.  The  advo- 
cates of  this  system  (Fig.  38)  require,  of  course, 


7- 


fixtures 
ze  above 


FIG.  38.— House  drain  trapped  by  a  disconnecting  trap ; 
in  the  house  left  untrapped ;  soil  pipe  extended  full  si: 
roof. 

the  trap  on  the  main  drain  and  a  fresh  air  pipe,  or,. 


55 

as  it  is  sometimes  called,  a  "  disconnecting  trap." 
The  objection  to  this  plan  lies  in  the  fact  that  soil 
and  waste  pipes  of  every  house  contain  more  or  less 
foul  air,  which  is  not  always  expelled  at  the  top  of 
the  soil  pipe,  but  will  enter  the  interior  of  the 
dwelling  through  untrapped  fixtures.  Even  the 
short  branches  from  fixtures  become,  in  time, 
coated  with  a  peculiar  slime,  emitting  unhealthy 
gases  ;  this  is  true  in  particular  of  the  overflow 
pipes,  which  are  insufficiently  flushed  and  readily 
become  the  seat  of  fungoid  growth.  Noxious 
gases  may,  it  is  true,  be  withdrawn  by  connecting 
branch  waste  pipes  to  a  hot  flue.  But  the  danger 
always  remains  that,  at  times,  such  flue  ceases  to 
draw;  for  instance,  if  the  kitchen  fire  goes  out 
over  night,  or,  in  the  case  of  a  steam  coil  placed  in 
a  flue  to  increase  the  draft,  the  steam  may  be  shut 
off  from  Saturday  afternoon  to  Monday  morning. 
In  such  instance,  what  is  to  prevent  the  foul  gases 
from  entering  through  the  fixtures  into  the  house  ? 
Moreover,  the  practical  difficulty  is  great  of  estab- 
lishing a  strong,  uniform  and  constant  downward 
draft  through  a  multitude  of  untrapped  plumbing 
fixtures. 

Of  the  three  methods  of  arranging  the  waste 
pipes  of  a  dwelling,  shown  in  Figs.  35,  36  and  38, 
the  system  illustrated  in  Fig.  35,  showing  a  trap 
and  fresh  air  inlet  on  the  main  drain,  and  a  trap 
under  every  fixture  in  the  house,  is  undoubtedly 
the  safest,  and  therefore  the  best. 

In  the  next  chapter  we  will  explain  how  accu- 
mulation of  filth  in  traps,  and  therefore  one  of  the 
chief  objections  against  traps,  may  best  be  obvia- 


56 

ted  by  a  judicious  selection  of  a  properly  shaped 
trap.  We  shall  also  discuss  under  what  conditions 
traps  may  fail,  and  how  they  can  be  made  safe 
against  back  pressure,  siphonage,  evaporation 
of  water,  and  absorption  of  gases  by  the  water  in, 
the  trap. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DETAILS     OF     TRAPS. 


IN  a  system  of  house  drainage  traps  are  neces- 
sary evils.  I  have  explained  in  the  last  chapter 
why  they  must  be  used.  They  are  evils  because 
they  tend  to  retard  the  flow  of  water  through 
waste  pipes,  and,  unless  properly  shaped,  are  apt  to 
catch  hair,  lint,  chips  of  straw  or  wood,  and  other 
articles,  and  retain  more  or  less  decomposing  mat- 
ter ;  for  this  reason,  and  where  the  water  in  the 
trap  is  not  changed  sufficiently  often,  they  are  the 
cause  of  annoying  odors.  Let  us,  therefore,  inquire 
into  the  shape  and  character  of  traps  used  for  house 
drainage  purposes.  To  all  traps  the  following 
cardinal  principle,  so  well  expressed  by  Mr.  Hellyer, 
should  apply  :  "  No  sanitary  fitting,  waste  pipe, 
soil  pipe  or  drain  should  be  trapped  in  a  way  that 
will  not  admit  of  the  whole  of  the  water  in  such 
traps  being  entirely  changed  every  time  a  good 
flush  of  water  is  sent  into  them."  Although  this 
rule  applies  to  all  kinds  of  traps,  it  is  true  above  all 
of  traps  under  urinals,  slop-sinks  and  water-closets. 
These  fixtures,  therefore,  should  receive  a  liberal 
flush  of  pure  water  from  a  special  cistern  after 
each  use.  With  kitchen  and  pantry  sinks,  laundry 
tubs,  bath  tubs  and  wash  basins,  the  case  is  dif- 
erent.  The  usual  custom  is  to  empty  these  fixtures 
after  use,  without  giving  the  waste  pipe  a  subse- 


58 

quent  flushing  with  clean  water.  The  last  water 
flowing  from  the  fixture  will  remain,  therefore,  in 
the  trap.  Be  this  waste  water  from  a  bowl,  a 
laundry  tub,  a  bath  or  a  sink,  it  is  in  any  case 
fouled  water  which  may  emit  noxious  gases  into 
the  room,  this  depending,  to  a  certain  extent,  upon 
the  length  of  time  during  which  the  fixture  remains 
unused.  From  this  it  is  quite  apparent  that  a  ju- 
dicious use  of  plumbing  fixtures  is  all  important  in 
order  to  prevent  traps  becoming  a  serious  evil. 

When  all  washing  is  done,  let  the  house-maid 
apply  a  thorough  cleaning  to  all  the  tubs,  and  let  her 
follow  this  with  a  few  quarts  of  dean  water  from 
the  faucet  into  each  tub,  and  through  the  waste  pipe 
into  the  trap.  The  same  advice  may  be  given  with 
reference  to  the  use  of  wash  basins,  bath  tubs, 
etc.  It  is  quite  evident  that  domestic  cleanliness, 
especially  a  proper  care  of  fixtures,  have  much  to 
do  with  the  prevention  of  bad  air  in  dwellings,  but 
it  would  lead  us  too  far  to  offer  here  more  than 
these  few  pertinent  remarks. 

In  considering  the  various  traps  in  use  it  will  be 
well  to  group  them  into  the  following  classes  :  1. 
Traps  for  house  drains.  2.  Water  closet  traps.  3. 
Traps  for  sinks,  bowls  and  tubs. 

Traps  for  fixtures  as  well  as  for  drain  pipes  ought  to 
foe  so  shaped  as  to  be  self  cleansing.  A  common  pipe 
foent  in  the  shape  of  an  S,  and  therefore  called  S 
trap,  of  the  same  bore  as  the  waste  pipe,  meets 
this  requirement  more  thoroughly  than  any  other 
3dnd.  In  the  Minutes  of  Information  on  the 
"  Drainage  and  Cleansing  of  Houses  and  Public 
and  Private  Edifices,  etc.,"  published  by  the  Gen- 


59 

i 

eral  Board  of  Health  of  England,  in  1852,  we  find 
the  following  on  traps  for  drain  pipes  : 

"  The  best  form  of  trap,  the  most  simple,  the  least 
liable  to  derangement,  and  the  most  economical,  and 
therefore  the  one  to  be  recom- 
mended for  house  drains  and 
for  general  adoption,  is  the 
Siphon  water  trap.  For  the 
ends  of  drains  the  siphon  trap 
will  be  formed  thus  :  (Fig.  39). 

FIG.  39-Si  j^on  water  trap  T*1686  traPs  should,  when  prac- 
recommended  by  the  General  ticable,  be  placed  a  little 
Board  of  Health,  of  England.  ,  ,  ' 

below  the  openings,  so  that 

the  force  of  the  fall  of  water  may  effectually  discharge 
the  previous  contents." 

Traps  for  House  Drains. 

The  earliest  traps  placed  on  house  drains  to 
separate  the  house  from  cesspools  or  sewers  were 
probably  flap  valves,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  40,  but 


Fig.  40— Flap  Valve  for  House  Drainage. 

it  was  soon  recognized  that  even  light  flaps  would 
tend  to  detain  coarse  waste  matters  and  cause 
obstructions  in  the  house  drain  as  shown  in  the 
sketch.  (Fig.  41.)  Moreover,  none  of  the  flap 


60 


FIG.  41.— Flap  Valve  for  house  drain  (taken  from  General  Board 
of  Health  Report,  1852). 

valves   on   drains   would   form    an    air-tight   seal 
against  gases  of  decomposition. 

An   equally   objectionable  form  of   trap  is  the 
"cesspool  trap,"  or  " mason's  trap "  (Fig.  42),  so 


FIG.  42  —Cesspool  or  Mason's  Trap. 

commonly  found  in  old  city  residences  and  country 
mansions,  and  invariably  filled — often  choked — 
with  the  worst  kind  of  putrescent  matter.  Most 
traps  now  used  for  house  drains  have  the  siphon- 
shape  (Fig.  39)  and  are  generally  provided  with  an 
inlet  for  fresh  air  on  the  house  side  of  the  water 
seal.  Such  traps  are  made  in  cast-iron  and  in 


earthenware,  and  are  Aiced  near  the  front  wall  in 
the  cellar,  or  outside  of   the   house,  in  which  case 


61 

proper  precautions  should  be  taken  to  protect  the 
trap  from  freezing  and  to  make  it  accessible  for  in- 
spection  and  for  cleaning  purposes.  Earthen  traps 
should  be  highly  glazed  to  present  a  smooth  sur- 
face, while  the  iron  traps  may  be  coated  with  the 
black  or  the  white  porcelain  enamel. 

In  most  traps  for  house  drains  the  fresh  air 
inlet  on  the  house  side  of  the  water  seal  is  com- 
bined with  the  trap  in  one  piece.  Sometimes  this 
inlet  is  enlarged  to  an  air-chamber,  and  the  trap  is 
then  generally  called  a  "  disconnecting  trap." 
Most  of  these,  as  we  shall  see,  are  of  English 
make,  and  used  there  extensively,  while  none  but 
the  simpler  traps  are  used  in  the  United  States. 

There  is  a  radical  difference  between  the  English 
house  drainage  system  and  the  system  used  with 
us,  which  may  be  readily  explained  by  the  differ- 
ence of  climate.  It  is  a  cardinal  principle  with 
English  sanitary  engineers  to  locate  soil  pipes  out- 
side of  the  house,  and  further,  to  separate  water 
closet  wastes  from  most  other  wastes  of  the  house- 
hold. Waste-pipes  from  lavatories,  bath  tubs,  sinks, 
etc.,  are  required  to  have  no  direct  connection  with 
a  foul  water  drain  ;  they  must  discharge  over  open 
gullies,  which  are  trapped  and  connect  to  the  house 
drain.  The  severity  of  our  climate  would  pro- 
hibit such  an  arrangement  in  all  but  the  Southern 
States.  We  must  keep  soil  and  waste  pipes  inside 
of  a  dwelling,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  for  a 
moment  hesitate  to  connect  bath  or  bowl  wastes  to 
a  soil  pipe,  provided  the  latter  is  efficiently  venti- 
lated and  the  fixtures  safely  trapped.  I  have 
made  mention  of  the  English  practice  because 


\ 


62 


many  of  the  drain  traps  illustrated  are  of  English 
make,  and  thus  their  arrangement  will  be  more 
readily  understood. 

I  will  now  briefly  describe  and  illustrate  some  of 
the  numerous  drain  traps  used  in  modern  works 
of  house  drainage  : 

Fig.  43  and  Fig.  44  are  running  traps  of  cast' 
iron,  manufactured  for  use  with  plumber's  soil 


FIG.  43— Mott's  Running  Trap,  with  cleaning  hole  and  cover. 

pipe  by  the  J.  L.  Mott  Iron  Works,  and  others. 
Fig.  43  illustrates  a  trap  with  a  hand-hole  for 
cleaning  purposes,  closed  air-tight  by  an  iron 


FIG.  44— Mott's  Running  Trap,  with  opening  for  fresh  air. 

cover,  set  in  Portland  cement.  Fig.  44  shows  a 
trap  with  opening  for  a  fresh  air  pipe  on  the  house 
side  of  trap. 


63 


FIG.  45— Durham  Trap,  with  cleaning  holes  and  opening  for 
fresh  air. 

Fig.  45  illustrates  a  running  trap  for  house 
drains,  manufactured  by  the  Durham  House  Drain- 
age Company.  It  is  provided  with  two  large 
hand-holes  for  cleaning  purposes,  closed  by  iron 
plates  bolted  to  the  flange,  the  joint  being  made 
tight  with  red  lead  and  putty.  These  plates  are 
supposed  to  be  removed  in  the  illustration.  The 
trap  has  also  a  large  opening  on  the  house  side  for 


FIG.  46-Durham  Trap,  with  fresh  air  inlet  onlj. 

a  fresh  air  pipe.  Fig.  46  shows  the  same  kind  of 
trap  with  fresh  air  inlet,  but  without  cleaning 
hand-holes. 


64 


Pig.  47  is  a  representation  of  the  Stewart  trap, 

made  in  earthen- 
ware. In  addition 
to  the  opening  B, 
intended  for  clean- 
ing purposes,  or  else 
to  introduce  fresh 
air  into  the  house 
drain,  it  has  a  sec- 
ond opening,  D,  to 
which  a  vent  pipe 
earthenware  may  be  attached, 
leading  to  the  open 
air,  remote  from  windows,  or  else  extended  up  to 
the  roof.  In  case  of  pressure  from  the  sewer, 
which  may  occur  at  times  of  sudden  rain-falls,  or 
with  sewers,  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  tide, 
and  for  other  reasons,  the  first  seal,  which  is  not 
quite  accurately  shown  in  the  cut,  may  be  forced, 
and  sewer  air  would  then  escape  through  the  open- 
ing D  instead  of  into  the  house  pipes. 

Fig.  48  shows  a  double  trap  on  the  line  of  the 


FIG.     47.— Stewart's 
House  Drain  Trap. 


FIG.  48.— Double  trapped  House  Drain,  with  vent  pipe  between 
first  and  second  trap, 

main  drain,  which,  however,  should  not  be  used 
except  where  there  is  apt  to  be  excessive  pressure 
from  the  sewer.  If  it  is  used,  a  vent  pipe  should 


65 


be  placed  between  the  first  and  second  trap,  lead- 
ing up  to  the  roof. 

Fig.  49  illustrates  a  drain  trap,  located  outside 


FIG.  49.— Trap  and  opening  for  fresh  air  located  In  a  manhole. 

of  the  house  in  a  man-hole,  and  having  an  opening 
serving  as  a  fresh  air  inlet.  The  top  of  man-hole 
should,  then,  be  covered  with  a  perforated  cover  or 
grating. 

Fig.  50  illustrates  in  section  an  unsatisfactory 


FIG.  50.— Bad  form  of  running  trap. 

shape  of  trap,  commonly  made  in  earthenware, 
and  indicates  the  manner  in  which  tkis  traD  so*n 
.accumulates  filth. 


66 


Fig.  51  is  a  sketch  of  a 
suitable  stoneware  trap  for 
house  drains,  recommended 
in  the  Model  By-Laws  of 
the  Local  Government 

FIG.  51.-Suitable  Stone-      Board, 
ware  Trap  for  house  drains.         The  same  by-laws  recom- 

mend  the  disconnecting  trap,  Fig.   52,  for  house 

3 


FIG.  53.— Disconnecting  Trap. 

drains,  which  may  be  understood  without  further 
explanation. 


FIG.  53.— Man-hole  and  Disconnecting  Chamber  for  house  drains; 
traps  placed  on  each  end  of  man-hole. 

A  house  drain  may  be  disconnected  from  the 


sewer  or  cesspool  in  the  manner  indicated  in  Fig. 
53.  Should  gases  force  their  way  through  the  first 
trap,  they  would  escape  at  the  man-hole,  and  the 
second  trap  effectively  prevents  entrance  of  sewer 
air.  Such  an  arrangement  is  feasible  only  for 
suburban  or  country  dwellings  ;  it  is  not  much  in 
use. 

A  trap,  with  large-sized  fresh  air  inlet,  and  called 
a  disconnecting  trap,  is  shown  in  Fig.  54.     This 


FIG.  64—  Disconnecting  Trap. 

arrangement  was  first  recommended  by  Dr.   Bu- 
chanan,  of    England,    and 
afterwards  by  the  Massa 
chusetts    State     Board    of 
Health. 

Fig.  55  illustrates  a  re- 
cently designed  trap,  manu- 
factured in  cast-iron,  with 

FIG.   55— Bolting's    Trap, 

with  fresh  air  inlet.  oval     f  resh     air     opening, 

known  as  Betting's  trap. 

Figs.  56  and  57  are  representations  of  the  Bavin 
and  the  Redhill  Traps  ;   both  are  made  in  stone- 


68 


ware.     The  shape  of  the  Redhill  Trap  is  appar- 
ently a  very  good  one. 


FIG.  56.— Bavin  Trap. 


FIG.  57.— Redhill  Trap. 


Fig.  58  is  the  "Cascade"  Action  Trap,  patented 
to  Mr.  Buchan,  of  Glasgow.  It  is  made  in  stone- 
ware, and  provided 
with  a  cleaning  hole, 
and  with  an  inlet  for 
fresh  air.  There  is  a 
vertical  drop  of  about 
two  inches  from  the 
house  drain  side  and 
FIG.  58.— Buchan's  Trap.  into  the  water  of  this 
trap,  and  such  a  drop  is  generally  regarded  as  an 
advantage,  as  it  tends  to  "break  up  and  carry 
away  the  faeces  "  more  readily.  In  a  recent  letter 
to  the  author,  Robert  Rawlinson,  Esq.,  wrote  : 

"With  respect  to  traps  there  are  various  forms  de- 
pendent on  water.  The  inverted  siphon  is  one  of  the 
most  common.  In  this  form  of  trap  it  is  an  advantage 
to  have  the  outlet  lower  than  the  inlet,  and  not  on  a 
level.  Where  the  difference  in  level  will  allow,  a  vertical 
fall  from  a  house  drain  is  useful  into  the  small  hand- 
chambers  over  the  head  of  the  inverted  siphon,  and  in 
America  this  should  be  placed  well  down  so  as  to  be  out 
of  the  reach  of  frost." 

Molesworth's  Trap,  Fig.  59,  is  one  of  the  earlier 


69 


I         immnj 


FlG.  59— Molesworth's  Trap. 

forms  of  disconnecting  traps,  which  need  little 
explanation.  The  water  level  is  not  correctly 
shown  in  the  drawing  of  this  trap. 


FIG.  62— Doulton's  Intercepting  Traps. 

Figs.  60,  61  and  62  are  illustrations  of  three 
different  intercepting  traps,  manufactured  in  stone- 
ware by  Doulton,  of  Lambeth,  England. 


70 


Figs.  63  and  64  show  two  forms  of  the  "Eureka" 
Sewer  Air  Trap,  the  suggestion  of  the  well-known 


FiGS.  63  and  64— Eureka  Traps. 

sanitarian,  Dr.  P.  Hinckes  Bird,  manufactured  in 
stoneware  by  James  Stiff  &  Sons,  Lambeth.  The 
curve  of  the  siphon  is  an  easy  one,  and  the  curved 
dip  will  facilitate  the  scouring  and  flushing  of  this 
trap.  The  opening  beyond  the  dip  may  be  used 
as  a  cleaning  hole,  or  else  it  may  be  connected  with 
a  vent  pipe  carried  up  to  the  roof,  and  intended  to 
remove  gases  from  the  public  sewer  or  cesspool. 


FIG.  65— Weaver's  Trap. 

Fig.  65  shows  "  Weaver's  Ventilating  Sewer  Air 


71 


Trap,  manufactured  by  James  Stiff  &  Sons,    of 
Lambeth,    England.     This   is    a   most   convenient 


W&8* 


FIG.  65a.— Ventilation  of  the  house  drain  and  the 
effected  by  Weaver's  Trap. 

form  of  a  disconnecting  trap.  It  has  a  fresh  air 
inlet  covered  with  a  perforated  grating,  and  on  the 
sewer  side  of  the  dip,  a  junction,  which  should  be 
connected  to  a  pipe  leading  up  to  the  roof  on  the 
outside  of  the  house,  to  ventilate  the  sewer.  Where 
this  trap  is  placed  much  below  the  surface,  to 
bring  it  out  of  reach  of  the  frost,  the  fresh  air 
inlet  should  be  brought  up  to  the  surface  by  pipes, 
such  as  shown  at  C  in  Fig.  65a. 


72 

Fig.  66  is  another  trap  made  by  Stiff  &  Sons,  of 

Lambeth,  and  called 
the  registered  "  Inter- 
cepter "  Sewer  Air 
Trap.  This  trap  is 
made  in  stoneware,  and 
has  at  its  upper  part 
FIG.  66.-stiff-s  """ intercepter "  three  openings.  The 

trap     has     a     double 

water-seal,  the  nearest  to  the  sewer  being  only  2  in- 
ches deep,  while  the  second  one  is  7  inches  in  depth. 
The  first  dip  effectually  disconnects  the  house 
drain  from  the  air  of  the  sewer  or  cesspool.  Should 
there  be  an  excess  of  pressure  from  either,  the  first 
water  seal  may  be  forced,  but  the  foul  gases  will 
then  find  an  exit  at  the  middle  or  foul  air  outlet, 
which  should  be  carried  up  to  the  roof  of  the 
building  by  a  pipe  on  the  outside  of  the  house. 
No  foul  gases  from  the  sewer  will,  under  such  con- 
ditions, pass  through  the  second  stronger  water 
seal.  Fresh  air  will  continually  enter  at  the 
inlet  nearest  to  the  house,  thus  establishing  the 
desired  constant  change  of  air  in  the  soil  and 
waste  pipes.  The  opening  nearest  to  the  sewer  is 
intended  for  inspection  and  cleansing  purposes. 
"Where  the  trap  is  located  much  below  the  surface, 
an  earthern  pipe  should  be  carried  from  the  open- 
ings to  the  surface,  the  first  one  being  covered  by 
an  open  grating,  the  second  one  by  a  tight  cover. 

Jennings'  ventilating  cesspool  or  drain  trap, 
Fig.  67,  is  very  similar  in  shape  and  identical  in 
design  to  Buchan's  trap.  This  trap  has  the  above- 
mentioned  drop  of  several  inches  from  the  house 


73 


drain  to  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  trap.  It  is 
designed  by  the  well-known 
manufacturer  of  sanitary 
fittings,  George  Jennings, 
of  London,  and  is  made  in 
strong,  highly-glazed,  vitri- 
fied stoneware.  As  the 
patentee  says,  "it  is  de- 
signed for  introduction,  not 

FIG.  67-.Tennings'    Venti-  <*t  ttie  foot    of   a  Soil  pipe, 
latlng  Drain  Trap.  ^  ^    fl    ^    of  drain,   but 

at  the  point  of  junction  with  the  cesspool  or 
sewer,  the  proper  ventilation  of  which  can  be  pro- 
vided in  connection  with  the  smaller  socket.  At 
the  large  socket  a  grating  may  be  used,  or  a  ven- 
tilating pipe  inserted,  and  carried  to  a  convenient 
height  to  allow  the  escape  of  air  driven  down  by 
descending  waters,  and  to  admit  fresh  air  at  the 
lowest  point  in  the  line  of  drain.  The  trap  being 
formed  in  two  pieces,  the  socket  may  be  turned 
round  in  any  required  angle  to  the  line  of  drain, 
and  several  pipes  may  be  connected  to  one  outfall 
by  the  substitution  of  a  junction  piece  having  two 
or  three  inlets." 


FIG.  68- Potts'  Air-chambered  Disconnecting  Trap. 

Fig.  68  gives  a  sectional  view  of  Potts'  Edin- 


burgh  air-chamber  sewer  trap,  manufactured  by 
Potts  &  Co.,  of  Hands  worth,  near  Birmingham, 
England.  It  is  an  efficient  disconnecting  trap,  well 
adapted  for  mild  climates,  and  takes  its  denomina- 
tion from  the  large  air-chamber,  which  is  covered 
by  a  double  grating.  On  the  lower  grating  may 
be  placed  charcoal  or  other  disinfectants,  which, 
however,  tends  to  interfere  with  a  proper  air- 
current.  The  air-chamber  has  a  dividing  dia- 
phragm, intended  to  assist  in  creating  a  current  of 
air  through  the  trap.  The  house  drain  discharges 
at  the  head  of  the  chamber,  at  B.  Leader,  sink 
and  gully  wastes  discharge  into  side  openings  in  the 
air-chamber,  or  else  over  the  grating  at  C  D.  Be- 
yond the  water  seal  siphon-trap  is  an  opening,  A, 
which,  can  be  used  for  cleaning  purposes,  or  else 
may  connect  to  a  pipe  leading  to  the  roof,  and 
helping  to  ventilate  the  public  sewer.  Where  this 
trap  is  placed  much  below  the  surface,  the  air- 
chamber  may  be  extended  upwards  to  the  surface. 


AIR-CHAMBER                       C- 

* 
£                         (S^lLJ 

J      INSPECTION  CHAMBER 

WL=*J?£  2^ 

r—  .1        /              1     rv^ 

es?7- 

—  > 

! 

FIG.  69— Bnchan's  Disconnecting  Trap  and  Chamber. 
Fig.   69  shows    a   vertical   section    of  Buchan's 


75 


disconnecting  trap,  consisting  of  two  man-holes, 
with  a  Buchan  "  Cascade  action  "  trap  between 
both  on  the  line  of  the  drain.  The  man-hole  next 
to  the  sewer  serves  for  cleaning  and  inspection 
purposes  ;  the  man-hole  next  to  the  house  serves  as 
an  air-chamber,  and  the  drain  pipe  has  a  large 
opening  through  which  fresh  air  enters  the  house 
drain.  Buchan  has  also  constructed  a  disconnect- 
ing trap  placed  in  a  single  man-hole. 

Fig.    70  illustrates   the    Croydon  Siphon   Trap, 
which  is  also   a  disconnecting 
trap,  but  its  shape  is  such  as  to 
make  it  hold  a  large  quantity 
of    foul    water,   which   IB   not 
readily   expelled.     It  is  conse- 
FIQ.  TO—  Croydon  Si-  quently    not    a     self  -cleansing 
ph<  drain  trap. 

Fig.  71  shows  the  ventilating  drain  siphon  and 
sewer  intercepter,  patented 
by  Mr.  Hellyer,  and  manufac- 
tured in  stoneware.  "These 
traps,"  Mr.  Hellyer  says,  "are 
specially  constructed  for  in- 
tercepting, or  rather  discon- 
necting sewers  and  sewage 
tanks  from  the  house  drain. 
FIG.  Ti-Heiiyer's  Sewer  The  trap  consists  of  a  round 

Intercepter  Trap.  of 


the  letter  V,  giving  it  a  water  seal  or  dip  of  about 
3  inches,  and  the  body  of  the  trap  is  comparatively 
of  smaller  diameter,  to  prevent  any  filth  collecting 
in  the  trap,  and  also  to  allow  the  water  in  the  trap 
•to  be  more  easily  driven  out  by  the  flushes  from 


76 


the  drain."  There  is  also  a  fall  of  about  6  inches 
from  the  drain  to  the  level  of  the  water  in  the 
trap.  The  upper  part  of  the  trap  is  enlarged  for 
the  admission  of  fresh  air,  and  carried  up  to  the 
surface,  where  it  should  be  covered  with  an  open 
grating. 

Mr.  Hellyer  has  devised  another  trap,  which  he 
calls  the  "  Soil  pipe  Disconnector,"  shown  in  Fig. 
72,  and  also  a  trap  which  he  calls  the  "  Combina- 


FIG.  73.  —  Hellyer's 
FIG.  72.— Hellyer's  Soil-pipe  Disconnector.       Drain  Interceptor. 

tion  Soil  Pipe  Trap."     Fig.  73  shows  Mr.  Hellyer'o 
Drain  Intercepter  Trap. 


Illl  I!  II II II  111 


FIG.  74.— J.  Tyler  &  Sons'  glazed  stoneware  disconnecting 
chamber  Sewer  Trap. 


77 


PIG.  75.— J.  Tylor  &  Sons'  disconnecting  chamber  Sewer  Trap. 

Two  disconnecting  chamber  sewer  traps,  made  in 
glazed  stoneware  by  J.  Tylor  &  Sons,  are  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  74  and  Fig.  75,  which  hardly  need 
any  detailed  description. 


Fio.  76.— Cottam's  Trap.  PIG.  77.— McLandsborough' 

Trap. 


FIG.  78.— Dodd's  Patent  Stench  Trap. 


78 


Cottam's  trap,  Fig.  76,  McLandsborough's  trap, 
Fig.  77,  and  Dodd's  Patent  Duplex  Stench  trap, 
Fig.  78,  have  each  a  double  dip  or  water  seal,  but 
I  should  hardly  call  such  traps  self -cleansing,  as 
grease  and  solids  will,  after  some  use,  accumulate 
on  the  surface  in  the  central  chamber  between  the 
two  diaphragms,  especially  in  the  two  first-named 
traps.  I  can  see  no  advantage  of  any  of  these  traps 
over  some  simpler  traps,  described  above. 

Fig.  79  is  a  vertical  section  of  Stidder's  inter- 


Fio.  79— Stidder's  Disconnecting  Trap. 

cepting  and  disconnecting  trap.  It  has  a  double 
water  seal,  an  air-chamber,  and  a  surface  grating 
between  both.  It  may  answer  for  surface  water 
and  wastes  from  hydrants  in  yards,  but  I  do  not 
think  it  would  be  self-cleansing,  when  used  for 
household  waste  water,  even  excluding,  as  the 
patentee  does,  water-closet  wastes. 

The  same  objection  may  be  made  against  Hellyer's 
"  triple  dip  trap  or  drain  intercepted "   (Fig.   80), 


79 


made  in  stoneware.     There  are  three  water-dips  in 
this  trap,  and  thus  the   security  from  gases  from 


Fio.  80.— Hellyer's  Triple  Dip  Trap. 

the  sewer  or  cesspool  is  largely  increased,  but,  it 
must  be  conceded  at  the  expense  of  simplicity  in 
construction. 

The  firm  of  J.  G.  Stidder  &  Co.  (London  Sani- 
tary Engineering  Works)  manufacture  a  large 
variety  of  intercepting  traps  for  house  drains,  but 
it  would  lead  us  much  beyond  the  scope  of  this 
little  volume  to  illustrate  all  of  them.  We  refer 
to  the  handsome  illustrated  catalogue,  issued  by 
the  firm. 

Fig.   81   represents  Copley  Woodhead's   double 


FIG.  81.— Copley  Woodhead's  Double  Siphon  Ventilating  Sewer 
Trap. 

siphon  ventilating  sewer  trap.     Should   the   trap 
nearest  to  the  sewer  be  forced,  the  gases  find  a 


80 


ready  exit  at  the  first  air  shaft,  the  second  siphon 
effectually  excluding  them  from  the  house.  The 
second  air  shaft  serves  to  admit  air  to  \  the  house 
drainage  system. 

Fig.   82   illustrates  two  forms  of  soil  pipe   traps, 


FIG.  82.— Two  forms  of  Banner's  Soil  Pipe  Traps. 

used  by  Mr.  Banner  in  his  patented  system  of  soil 
pipe  ventilation.  The  practice  of  trapping  soil 
pipes  at  their  foot,  and  introducing  at  the  same 
point  fresh  air  from  the  outside,  is  restricted  to  a 
few  systems  of  soil  pipe  ventilation,  which  have, 
thus  far,  found  no  favor  in  the  United  States. 

A  few  illustrations  of  gully  traps  and  sink  traps 
may  close  our  list  of  traps  for  house  drains.  Fig.  83 
shows  the  "Weatherly  discon- 
nector" was'  e  water  trap,  used 
for  rain  leaders,  surface  water, 
and  for  waste  pipes  of  sinks, 
bath,  lavatories,  but  not  for 
soil  pipes.  It  may  be  of  ser- 
vice in  England,  where  water- 

FiG.8^-Weatheri^ink  closet  wastes  are  kePt  separate 
Trap.  from  wastes  of  sinks,  bath  and 

lavatories,  and  where  the  latter  are  required  to 
discharge  over  an  open  grating.  Such  traps  are 


81 


not  adapted  to  American  methods  of  house  sewer- 
age. A  well-known  trap  of  this  kind  is  Mansergh'e 
trap. 

Figs.   84  and  85  illustrate  Lovegroove's  patent 


FIGS.  84  and  85.— Lovegroove's  Patent  Drain  Traj  g. 

drain  traps,  the  former  to  be  used  for  stable  or  yard) 
drainage,  the  latter  for  areas.  Of  these  traps, 
which  are  really  mechanical  traps,  having  a  flap 
valve,  the  manufacturer  says:  "These  traps  are, 
under  all  circumstances,  equally  efficient  with  or 
without  water,  the  absorption  of  sewer  gases  being 
prevented  by  the  valve,  which  also  effectually  pre- 
vents the  escape  of  impure  air  from  the  drains,  in 
the  event  of  the  loss  of  water  seal  by  evaporation 
or  other  cause." 

Bellmann's  patent  gully  is  shown  in  Fig.  86,  its 
chief  advantage  being  the 
P  or  S  trap  in  place  of  the 
bell  trap  ordinarily  used. 
The  top  piece  can  be 
turned  any  way  to  suit 
all  localities.  It  has  side 
openings  to  receive  sink  or 
bath  wastes  as  shown. 

Lastly,  we  mention  Jen- 
nings' improved  tidal  valve 


FIG. 
Gully. 


.—Bellmann's  Patent 


for  the  outfalls  of  drains  or  sewers,  subjected 
to  the  influence  of  high  tides,  heavy  rains,  etc.  It 
is  a  mechanical  valve,  and  Fig.  87  "is  a  sectional 


FIG.  87.— Jennings'  Improved  Tidal  Valve. 

view  of  it,  showing  its  position  when  the  stream  or 
tide  rises  up  to  or  above  the  point  of  discharge, 
the  buoyancy  of  the  ball  causing  it  to  be  carried 
into  the  orifice  of  the  discharging  pipe,  and  against 
an  india-rubber  valve  seat,  forming  a  perfectly 
tight  joint,  greater  pressure  from  below  tending 
only  to  increase  its  security.  A  grating,  secured 
and  hinged,  admits  of  easy  access  to  the  valve  or 
chamber  at  any  time  when  required.  Under 
ordinary  conditions,  the  ball,  which  is  of  copper, 
floating  or  resting  in  a  chamber  formed  in  cement 
or  masonry  of  larger  dimensions  than  the  discharg- 
ing pipe,  offers  no  obstruction  to  the  free  escape  of 
waste  or  storm  waters,  while  the  '  drop '  from  the 


83 


pipe  effectually  prevents  the  lodgment  of  anything 
to  obstruct  the  proper  closing  of  the  valve." 

Such  tidal  valve  is  useful  for  the  protection  of 
property  below  the  level  of  high  tides,  and  also 
where  there  is,  at  times,  a  back  pressure  from  the 
sewer,  in  case  of  heavy  rain-falls.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten,  though,  that  in  using  such  valve,  the 
lower  or  outlet  part  of  the  house  drain  must  be 
increased  to  a  capacity  equal  to  the  amount  of 
sewage  discharged  from  the  house  during  such 
period  of  high  tide,  otherwise  a  backing  up  of 
sewage  into  the  cellar  and  through  basement  fix- 
tures may  occur. 

Traps  for  Water  Closets. 

The  trap  most  commonly  used  for  water  closets 
until  a  few  years  ago  was  the  well-known  D  trap. 
It  presents  inviting  recesses 
for  the  accumulation  of  grease 
and  filth  (see  Fig.  88),  and 
should  not  be  tolerated  under 
any  circumstances  whatever 
in  a  house  which  makes  any 
pretense  to  be  in  a  sanitary 
condition.  The  fact  of  its 
having  a  large  cleaning  screw 
(Fig.  89)  does  not  make  it  any 
more  acceptable,  for  such  a  screw  is  inconveniently 
located,  below  the  floor  and  out  of  sight,  and  is  con- 
sequently never  thought  of.  Fig.  90a  illustrates  a 
vertical  section,  and  Fig.  90b  a  plan  of  Tylor's  gal- 
vanized iron  closet  D-trap,  in  which  the  cleaning 
screw  is  located  on  top,  so  as  to  be  readily  removed. 


TIG.  88.— D-Trap,  with  fllth 
accumulation. 


84 


' 


Even  this  trap  is  objectionable,  as  it  is  not  self- 
cleansing. 


7 


FIG.  89.— D-Trap,  with  brass  cleaning  screw  on  the  side. 

The  "  Helmet  "  trap,  Smeaton's  "  Eclipse  "  trap 
(Fig.  91),  and  the  Adee  Patent  Stench  Trap  (Fig. 
95),  are  not  much  better  designed  with  respect  to 


FIG.  90a.— J.  Tylor's  4  in.  galvanized 
Iron  Boll  pipe  and  closet  trap. 


FIG.  90b.— Plan  of  same. 


cleanliness,  for  they  are  all  more  or  less  reservoirs 
for  filth. 


FIG.  91.— Smeaton'i  Eclipse  Trap. 


85 


Fig.  92  illustrates,  in  view  and  in  section,  Hell- 
yer's Mansion  Trap  for  water  closets,  and  Fig.  93  a, 
b,  c,  Hellyer's  Anti-D-Trap, 
for  which  latter  trap  the  in- 
ventor claims  that  it  is  not 
easily  siphoned.  There  are 
two  sizes  of  the  Anti-D-Trap, 
both  of  them,  but  especially 
the  smaller  one  (Fig.  93b), 
designed  to  hold  the  least 
quantity  of  water  consistent 
with  a  sufficient  water-seal. 
Mr.  Buchan  of  Glasgow  pro- 

Fio.  95.— Adec's   Patent  ,  .  -~  „,  /T,. 

jnch  Trap.  poses   the  Anti-D- 1  rap  (t  ig. 

94),  which  he  believes  is  safer  from  siphonage  than 
the  Anti-D-Trap  of  Mr.  S.  Hellyer,  as  it  has  a 
large  air  chamber  on  the  sewer  side  of  the  trap. 


FIG.  92.— Hellyer's  Mansion  Trap. 

Water  closet  traps  should  not  have  too  large  a 
dip  or  seal,  for  otherwise  it  is  difficult  to  drive  pa- 
per and  solids  out  into  the  soil  pipe.  The  less  quan- 
tity of  water  such  a  trap  holds,  with  the  same  depth 
of  water  seal,  the  better  will  it  be,  for  it  will  then  be 
possible  to  change  its  contents  entirely  at  each  flush. 


86 


No  mechanical  trap   has  as  yet   been   devised 
which  answers  for   use   under   water-closets;   the 


FIG.  93  a,  b,  c.— Hellyer's  Antl-D-Trap. 

water-seal  traps  are  the  only  ones  to  be  relied  upon; 

flap- valves  or  ball- valves,  in  connection  with  water- 
closet  traps,  are  sure  to  get 
out  of  order  after  some  use. 
The  best  traps  for  use 
under  water  closets  are  the 
S,  |  S  and  P  traps,  made 
either  of  lead,  iron  or  earth- 
enware. The  last  named 
kind  are  preferable  to  any 
other  on  account  of  their 

cleanliness,  but  an  iron  trap  may  have  its  inside 

surface   smoothed  by   enametting  the   trap.     Th& 


FIG.  94.— Buchan's  Anti-D-Trap. 


87 


drawn  lead  traps,  known  as  "  Du  Bois  "  traps  (Figs. 
96,  97  and  98),  are  equally  smooth  on  their  inside. 
They  are  decidedly  superior  to  hand-made  lead 
traps,  which,  after  years,  are  liable  to  show  defects 


FIG.  96.-Lead  P  or  ^  S-Trap, 
with  vent  attached. 


Fi6.  98.— Lead  8-Trap. 

at  the  seams,  and  to  cast  lead  traps,  which  often 
have  sandholes  and  other  defects. 

Earthen  or  porcelain  traps  for  water  closets  are 
always  set  above  the  floor,  iron  traps  are. placed 
above  as  well  as  below  the  floor,  while  lead  traps 
are  mostly  set  below  the  floor,  between  joists. 
Since  as  little  plumbing  as  possible  should  be  hid- 
den from  view,  it  is  in  most  cases  preferable  to  have 
the  trap  in  plain  sight  and  easy  of  access.  Should 
the  water  closet  apparatus  selected  require  a  trap 
below  the  floor,  it  is  much  better  to  use  an  iron 
enamelled  trap,  for  a  lead  trap  may  have  nails 
driven  in  at  the  top  by  careless  carpenters,  or  may 
get  displaced. 


88 

Speaking  of  water  closet  traps,  I  must  not  forget 
to  call  attention  to  an  unsatisfactory  manner  of 
trapping  water  closets,  by  omitting  the  water  seal 
trap  and  relying  for  a  barrier  against  gases  solely 
upon  the  water  in  the  closet  bowl,  held  in  place  by 
a  tight-fitting  plunger  or  plug,  or  else  a  flap-valve, 
or  slide-valve.  Any  of  these  arrangements  may 
get  out  of  order,  and  the  water  will  then  run  out 
of  the  closet  bowl.  This  shut-off  being  open,  drain 
air  may  easily  find  its  way  into  the  house,  for  a 
constant  downdraft  from  the  closet  into  the  soil 

pipe  cannot  be  depended  upon. 

i 

Traps  for  Sinks,  Bowls,  Tubs,  etc. 

To  choose  a  proper  trap  for  use  under  a  tub,  sink 
or  bowl,  is  often  a  rather  difficult  problem,  requir- 
ing sound  judgment,  skill  and  large  experience, 
since  each  of  the  numerous  patented  devices  in  the 
market  is,  in  the  opinion  of  its  inventor,  the  only 
•safe  and  reliable  one  to  use,  or,  as  it  is  commonly 
expressed,  "  the  only  positive  cure  against  sewer 
gas."  Each  of  these  patented  devices  will,  upon 
examination,  be  found  to  possess  certain  merits, 
which,  however,  are  generally  counterbalanced  by 
one  or  more  drawbacks.  For  instance,  one  trap 
may  be  self-cleansing,  but  extremely  liable  to  lose 
its  water  seal,  while  another  trap  may  be  safe 
against  siphonage  or  back-pressure,  but  liable  to  ac- 
cumulate grease  and  filth.  One  trap  may  answer 
under  certain  conditions  and  in  a  certain  locality, 
while  in  another  position  another  trap  might  be 
preferable. 

There  are  bell  traps  of  various  descriptions,  D 


89 

traps,  Dip  traps,  Bottle  traps,  and  various  kinds  of 
S  traps.  All  of  these  have  as  a  barrier  against 
gases  a  water  seal  of  more  or  less  depth.  There 
are  other  traps,  which  have  not  only  such  a  seal  by 
water,  but  also  a  mechanical  appliance  to  shut  off 
gases,  such  as  floating  balls  of  rubber  or  metal  ; 
heavy  self-seating  valves,  either  rubber  or  metal 
balls,  or  else  a  conical  shaped  valve  to  exclude 
sewer  air.  There  are  also  traps  provided  with  flap 
valves,  opening  with  the  current  of  water  and  shut- 
ting against  back-pressure  from  the  soil  pipe.  Other 
traps  have,  in  addition  to  the  water  seal,  a  seal  of 
mercury.  Finally,  a  large  number  of  traps  and  trap 
attachments  have  been  invented,  the  construction 
of  which  is  such  as  to  render  siphonage  impossible, 
or  at  least  very  difficult. 

Many  traps  of  each  of  the  above  groups,  though 
sold  under  different  names,  are  identical  in  princi- 
ple and  practically  the  same  in  construction,  so 
that  it  often  has  been  a  matter  of  wonder  to  the 
author  to  understand  how  they  all  could  have  been 
patented  as  a  "  new  and  original  invention." 

We  will  now  proceed  to  describe  the  more  com- 
mon forms  of  traps  of  this  class. 

For  sinks,  no  trap  has  been  used  as  extensively 
as  the  bell-trap  (Fig.  99),  although  probably  no 

other  trap  offers  as  little 
security  as  this  one 
against  sewer  gas.  It  is 
not  self-cleansing,  has 
far  too  little  water  seal 
to  resist  siphonage,  back 
FIG.  99.-Common  Bell-Trap,  pressure,  and  evapora- 


90 

tion,  it  gets  readily  choked,  and  is  generally  ren~ 
dered  worthless  if  servants  should  remove  the  top 
strainer,  thus  doing  away  with  what  little  seal  the 
trap  possessed. 

It  will  suffice  simply  to  mention  the  Antill  Trap 
(Fig.  100),  which  is  little  better  than  the  bell-trap, 


FIG.  100.— Antill's  Trap.    FIG.  101.— Jennings'  Improved 
Bell-Trap. 

although  it  is  an  improvement  upon  the  latter,  in 
as  much  as  its  strainer  and  dip  is  not  so  readily 
removed. 

Fig.  101  shows  a  vertical  section  of  Jennings' 
improved  bell-trap.  It  is  certainly  vastly  superior 
to  the  common  bell-trap  ;  its  water  seal  is  not 
broken  by  removing  the  strainer.  The  stream  of 
water  from  the  sink  is  concentrated  in  the  inlet 
pipe,  and  the  inverted  bell  is  consequently  better 
scoured  and  cleaned  ;  there  is  also  less  chance  for 
stoppages,  but  the  upper  corners  form  recesses  for 
the  collection  of  grease,  which  will  decompose. 
This,  however,  could  easily  be  remedied  by  a 
proper  rounding  off  of  the  upper  corners.  This 
trap  is  constructed  and  made  by  Geo.  Jennings,  of 
London,  either  in  lead,  with  brass  grates  and  bells, 
or  else  in  galvanized  iron. 

A  good  sink  trap,  made  by  Messrs.  Tye  and 
Andrews,  of  England,  is  shown  in  Fig.  lOla.  It 


91 


is  a  siphon  trap,  provided  with 
a  trap  screw  at  the  side  of  the 
trap  for  cleaning  purposes,  and 
with  a  strainer  on  top,  screwed 
into  the  body  of  the  trap,  in 
order  to  prevent  its  ready 
removal  by  servants,  who  other- 
wise would  brush  all  kind  of 

FIG.  loia.— Tye  &  An-  rubbish  into  the  trap,  thus  caus- 
drews' Sink  Trap.  .        £ 

ing  frequent  obstructions. 

A  small  D-trap,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  102,  is 
Q  often  used  under  wash-bowls  or 

I  I tubs,   but    we    must    earnestly 

^- *     protest   against   the   use    of    a 

contrivance    so    easily     fouled. 
Not  even  the  fact  that  it  is  not 
readily  siphoned,  can  make  this 
trap  more  acceptable  for  use  in 
the  sewerage  of  dwellings. 
There  are  other  traps  which  have  a  vertical  dip 
dividing  the  water  chamber  in  two  parts,  and  thus 
-establishing  a  water  seal.    Of  these  I  mention  Adee's 


O. 


FIG.  102.— Small  D- 
Trap. 


PIG.  103.— Adee's  Traps. 

P  and  S  stench  traps,  Fig.  103,  Brandeis'  paragon 
trap,  Fig.  104,  Tylor's  trap,  Fig.   105,  and  others. 


92 


FIG.  104.— Brandeis' 
Paragon  Trap. 


FIG.  105.— J.  Tylor's  Trap. 


Some  of  these  may  be  more  difficult  to  siphon  than 
the  round  siphon  trap,  but  they  are  not  self -cleans- 
ing traps,  and  for  this  reason  cannot  be  recom- 
meTBded  for  general  use. 


PIG.  106— J.  Tylor's  S-Trap.       FIG.  107.— Hellyer's  Sink  S-Trap. 

Fig.   106  represents   an   S-trap  for  sinks,  tubs,, 
urinals  or  bowls,  made  in  brass  by  J.  Tylor,  in 


93 


London.  Such  a  trap  of  brass  is  preferable  to  lead 
or  iron  traps  where  fixtures  are  left  entirely  ex. 
posed  to  view. 

Mr.  Hellyer  proposes  the  S-trap,  shown  in  Fig. 
107,  for  use  under  sinks  or  other  shallow  vessels. 
By  enlarging  the  mouth  of  the  trap  at  the  sink 
opening,  a  larger  quantity  of  water  drops  on  to  the 
water  level  in  the  trap,  which  is  thus  more  readily 
and  more  effectively  flushed. 

Of  lead  siphon  traps,  the  "  Du  Bois "  drawn 
traps,  made  by  hydraulic  pressure  in  the  same 
manner  as  lead  pipe,  possess  great  advantages  over 
those  cast  in  moulds,  or  those  made  with  seams  by 
hand.  Fig.  108  represents  the  "  Du  Bois"  S-trap, 
Fig.  109  his  |  S-trap,  Fig.  110  his  P-trap,  Fig.  Ill 


FIG.  106.— Du    Bois'    S- 
Trap. 


FIG.  lOG.-Du  Bois'  &  S-Trap. 


the  running  trap,  and  Fig.  112  the  "bag"  trap, 
shaped  so  as  to  bring  the  trap  outlet  vertically  be- 
low the  inlet. 


94 


FIG.  111.— Du  Bois'  Running  Trap. 


FIG.  112.— Du  Bois  Bag 
Trap. 


PiG.  110.— Du  Bois'  P-Trap. 

Such  lead  traps  are  made 
of  various  weights;  none  but 
the  extra  heavy  trap,  equiva- 
lent in  weight  to  the  heaviest 
lead  waste  pipe,  should  be 
used  in  good  plumbing. 

Such  S-traps  are,  as  a  rule,  preferable  to  most 
other  traps  on  account  of  their  cleanliness.  Further 
reference  to  S-traps,  their  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages, will  be  made  in  the  following  chapter. 

Another  group  of  traps  for  sinks,  bowls  or  tubs, 
may  be  called  bottle  traps,  the  general  shape  of 
the  trap  being  somewhat  like  a  bottle,  with  an 
inlet  pipe  in  the  centre  and  an  outlet  pipe  on  the 
circumference  of  the  bottle.  Figs.  118  and  114 
represent  Adee's  bottle  traps,  in  half-S  and 
S-shape. 

Fig.  115  shows  a  trap  used   extensively  in  Bos- 


FIG.  113.— Adee's  Bottle  Trap, 
half  8-shape. 


FIG.  1U.— Adee's  Bottle 

Trap,  S-shape. 


ton   plumbing   work,   and  called  the  round  trap. 
With  a  flat  bottom  it  soon  accumulates  deposits,  as 


FIG.  115.— Boston  Round 
Trap. 


FIG.   116. —  Boston   Round 
Trap, with  filth  accumulation. 


shown  in  Fig.  116.  It  may  be  somewhat  improved 
by  rounding  off  the  bottom,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
117.  Bottle  traps  are  of  ten  safe  against  siphonage , 


96 


where   an    S-trap 
would  lose   its 
water     seal,    but 
they  are  not  self- 
cleansing  ;  an  or- 
dinary  discharge 
from    a    sink    or 
bowl  will  not  en- 
tirely  change  its 
FIG.  117.— Improved  Bottle  Trap.          contents,     and 
after  collecting  filth,  the  bottle  trap  may  not  be 
much  safer  against  siphonage  than  the  S-trap. 
Fig.  118  shows  another  reservoir,  or  bottle  trap, 


FIG.  118.— Holding's  Patent 
Bottle  Trap. 


FIG.  119.— Brandeis'  "Cli- 
max" Trap. 


made  for  sinks,  by  John  Bolding,  in  London,  which 
needs  no  further  explanation. 

Fig.  119  illustrates  Brandeis'  "Climax"  trap, 
which  is  a  bottle  trap  with  quite  a  large  dip,  and 
has  a  cup  at  the  bottom,  which  can  be  unscrewed 
for  cleaning  purposes. 

Fig.  120  represents  Stidder's  patent  soap  trap, 
which  also  belongs  to  the  group  of  bottle  traps,  as 
well  as  Buchan's  round  bottle  trap,  Fig.  121. 


97 


FIG.  120.—  Stidder's  Patent  Soap  Trap. 


Fig.  122  shows  a  trap  made 
by  Claughton,  in  England,  of 
a  round  or  oval  section,  as 
shown,  with  a  cleaning  screw 
placed  at  one  side,  and  hav- 
ing two  inlets,  one  for  the 
waste,  the  other  for  the  over- 
flow of  a  basin,  or  sink.  The 
outlet  is  brought  directly 
under  the  inlet,  which  is  of 
advantage,  as  far  as  appear- 
ance is  concerned. 

Fig.  123  is  another  style  of 
trap,  made  by  the  same  manu- 
facturer, and  Fig.  124  shows 
his  sink  trap,  which  is  very 
similar  in  appearance  to  the 
"Climax"  trap,  described 


FiO.    121.  —  Buohan'& 
Round  Bottle  Trap. 


98 


above.     Instead  of   a  removable  cup,  the  trap  is 
provided  with  a  brass  cleaning  screw. 


ROUND  IN  SECTION 

AANDB 

FIG.  123.— Claughton's 
Trap,  for  sinks. 


OVAL  SECTION 


FIG.  124.— Claughton's  Trap, 
for  sinks. 


Another  recent  trap  is  Connolly's  "  Globe  "  trap, 
which  is  made  in  various  styles  and  of  various 
materials,  either  of  copper,  with  brass  connections, 
or  of  sheet  lead,  or  of  glass,  with  brass  connec- 
tion. The  traps  are  made  either  in  S  or  P-shape, 
or  as  running  traps.  Fig.  125  illustrates  the  P- 
shaped  globe  trap,  of  sheet  lead  ;  Fig.  126  the 
running  globe  trap,  of  copper  ;  Fig.  127  the  glass 
;globe  trap,  with  brass  connection. 


99 


FIG.  125.  —  Connolly's  Patent 
Globe  Trap,  of  sheet  lead,  P- 
sbaped. 


FIG.  127.  —  Connol- 
ly's Glass  Globe  Trap, 
with  brass  connec- 
tions. 


FIG.    126.  —  Connolly's   Patent    Globe 
Trap,  of  copper,  running  trap. 


The  application  of  the  glass  globe  trap  to  wash- 
bowl waste  and  overflow  is  shown  in  the  sketch, 
Fig.  128.  There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  certain  advan- 
tage in  having  a  globe  made  of  glass,  which 
enables  any  one  to  see  at  a  glance  whether  the  seal 
in  the  trap  is  destroyed  or  not.  I  am  unable,  with- 
out repeated  actual  experiments,  to  verify  the 
claim  of  the  manufacturer,  that  the  globe  trap  can- 
not be  rendered  inefficient  by  siphonage.  The  con- 


100 


struction  of  the  trap  is  such  as  to  allow  the  un- 
screwing of  the  overflow  pipe,  in  case  this  pipe 
.should  need  cleaning. 


FIG.  128.— Washbowl,  with  Connolly's  Glass  Trap. 

Another  late  invention  is  Pietsch's  stench  trap, 
Fig.  129.  It  is  a  bottle  trap,  with  deep  seal,  which 
is  not  easily  siphoned.  The  inlet  pipe  from  sink,  or 
bowl,  is  provided  above  the  water  seal  with  a  flap- 
valve,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  sup- 
posed to  shut  tightly,  and  to  be  still  more  firmly 
pressed  against  its  seat  by  back-pressure.  Its  object 
is  the  prevention  of  siphonage  by  admitting  air 
from  the  fixture  to  the  waste  pipe,  in  case  a  strong 


101 


suction  should  be  applied  to 
the  water  in  the  trap.  The 
danger  with  this  trap  lies  in 
the  flap-valve,  which  may  get 
out  of  order  and  will  not 
tightly  shut,  in  which  case 
gases  could  freely  pass  from 
the  soil  or  waste  pipe  up  the 
fixtures  into  the  rooms,  in 
— j,  A  spito  of  the  deep  water  seal. 

We  must  now  consider  a 
few  of  the  more  important 
mechanical  traps  used  in 
plumbing  work.  The  addi- 
tional mechanical  seal  by  a 
valve,  ball  or  flap,  is  intended 
to  give  increased  security  in 
case  of  back-pressure,  and  in 
case  of  evaporation  of  the 
water  in  the  trap,  or  in  case  of  the  water  being 
removed  by  siphonage,  they  form  a  seal,  which,  with 
the  gravity  valves,  will  depend  upon  the  accuracy 
with  which  the  seat  is  turned.  In  the  case  of  traps 
with  a  floating  ball,  the  seal 
is  preserved  only  as  long  as 
the  water  is  not  lowered  so 
much  as  to  drop  the  ball  from 
the  mouth  of  the  inlet  pipe. 

Among  mechanical  traps 
which  have  been  used  very 
extensively  of  late,  I  mention 
the  Bower  trap,  shown  in  sec- 
tion, in  Fig.  130  ;  in  Fig.  131,  Fl0* 


FIG.  129.— Pietflch's 
Stench  Trap. 


Trap 


102 


FIG.  131. — Bower's  Running  Trap,  in  section. 

which  represents  a  running  trap,  and  in  Fig.  132r 
which  shows  a  wash-bowl  trapped  by  this  trap, 
and  Fig.  132a,  showing,  on  a  large  scale,  a  view  of 
the  trap.  Its  construction  and  action  has  been 
thus  described  by  the  Committee  on  Science  and 
Arts  of  the  Franklin  Institute  : 

"  The  invention  consists  in  providing  a  sewer  gas  trap 
with  a  floating  valve  which  will  permit  the  flow  of 
water  and  gases  carried  with  the  water  in  one  direction, 
and  prevent  their  regurgitation.  The  inlet  pipe  of  the 
trap  extends  downward  into  a  chamber,  which  is  of 
somewhat  larger  dimensions  than  the  inlet  pipe.  The 
outlet  pipe  is  arranged  so  that  its  discharge  opening  is 
relatively  such  to  the  lower  end  of  the  inlet  pipe  that 
the  level  of  the  water  in  the  trap  is  always  a  considera- 
ble distance  above  the  opening  of  the  inlet  pipe,  and 
the  trap  is  ordinarily  sealed  by  water.  A  float  ball  or 
valve  (preferably  a  hollow  ball  of  rubber)  is  placed  in 
the  trap  beneath  the  end  of  the  inlet  pipe,  and  this 
valve  is  constantly  immersed  in  the  liquid — the  dimen- 
sions of  the  trap  being  such  that  the  ball  cannot  escape 
upwards  alongside  of  the  inlet  pipe. 


103 


FIG.  132.— Washbowl,  trapped  by  Bower's  Trap. 

When  "water  is  poured  into  the  inlet  of  the  trap,  the 
ball  is  forced  away  and  permits  a  free  passage  to  the 
outlet. 

Should  anything  occur  to  bring  a  pressure  upwards 
from  the  outlet  of  the  trap,  the  ball  (already  held  in  its 
place  by  floatation)  is  more  firmly  pressed  into  the  seat, 
and  prevents  the  passage  of  liquids  or  gases  through  the 
trap  from  its  outlet  to  its  inlet.  The  advantages  pos- 
sessed by  this  device  above  others  with  check  valves 
consist  in  the  constant  approximation  of  the  valve  to- 
its  seat,  and  the  ease  and  little  force  with  which  it  is- 
displaced  and  replaced  when  water  has  passed  the  trap. 


104 


Fro.  132a— View  of  Bower's 
Trap. 


As  an  essential  to  the  pro- 
per working  of  the  device, 
care  must  be  taken  to  select 
material  for  the  valve  that 
shall  secure  floatation ;  if  a 
hollow  rubber  ball  be  used, 
it  must  be  perfectly  air- 
tight  " 

Amongst  the  advan- 
tages of  this  trap  I  men- 
tion the  following :  its 
seal  is  not  broken  by 
evaporation,  nor  by  back- 
pressure; it  affords  a  seal 
against  absorbed  gases 
and  against  back  water  ; 
the  cup  is  removable,  giving  access  to  all  parts  of 
the  trap  ;  it  may  be  fitted  with  glass  cup,  exposing 
the  rubber  ball  and  the  water  seal ;  freezing  will 
rarely,  if  ever,  injure  the  trap,  as  the  hollow  rub- 
ber ball  may  be  sufficiently  compressed  to  allow 
for  expansion  ;  the  screw-joint  between  cup  and 
body  of  the  trap  is  below  the  water-line,  conse- 
quently there  can  be  no  leakage  of  sewer  gas  at 
this  point.  This  is  all-important,  and  we  shall  see 
later  that  most  of  the  gravity  valves  do  not  pos- 
sess this  advantage. 

Another  merit  of  the  floating  valve  consists 
in  its  lesser  resistance  to  the  flow  of  water 
from  the  fixture  than  that  of  gravity  or  flap 
valves.  Finally,  I  mention  the  fact  that  the  seal 
of  the  Bower  trap  is  not  easily  lost  by  siphonage, 
provided  the  main  soil  and  waste  pipe  system  has 


105 

ample  ventilation.  This  fact  the  author  has  as- 
certained while  making  numerous  experiments 
on  the  siphonage  of  traps  for  the  National  Board 
of  Health,  under  direction  of  Col.  Geo.  E.  War- 
ing, Jr. 

With  a  soil  pipe,  closed  at  the  top,  the  author 
succeeded  in  removing,  by  suction,  sufficient  water 
from  the  trap  to  cause  the  ball  to  drop  from  the 
inlet  pipe,  but  under  all  ordinary  combination 
of  discharges  from  fixtures,  the  writer  found  it 
impossible  to  do  so,  with  a  soil  pipe  open  at 
the  top  and  having  a  fresh  air  pipe  at  the  foot. 
I  am  aware  that  other  writers  claim  that  even 
then  the  seal  of  the  Bower  trap  may  be  lost  by 
siphonage. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  Bower  trap,  which  I 
know,  is  its  liability  to  become  filthy  in  the  upper 
corners.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  ball-valve  is 
cleaned  at  each  discharge  by  being  made  to  revolve 
in  the  chamber.  '  It  must  also  be  admitted  that  the 
ball-valve  produces  an  eddy  which  assists  in  scour- 
ing the  bottom  of  the  trap.  But  the  upper  corners 
do  not  get  any  benefit  from  this  scour,  while,  espe- 
cially, if  used  under  sinks,  grease  will  collect  and 
remain  there. 

The  author  offers,  in  Figs.  133,  134  and  135, 
some  suggestions  for  improving  the  shape  of  this' 
trap  so  as  to  render  it  more  self-cleansing 
while  retaining  the  advantages  of  the  original 
trap. 

A  floating  ball -valve,  somewhat  different  and 
less  useful  that  the  Bower  trap,  is  Putzrath's  back- 


106 


FiGS.  133, 134, 135.— The  author's  suggestion  for  improved  shape  of 
Bower's  Trap. 


FIG.  136.— Putzrath's  Back-Pressure  Valve. 


107 


pressure  valve,  Figs.  136  and  137.     It  is  made  in 
« —    — «  Germany  for  use  under 

I  I  sinks,  tubs,  bowls  and 

water-closets,  but  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  for 
the  latter  purpose,  the 
trap  is  wholly  unfit.  It 
would  soon  choke  and 

FiG.l^utzrath'sBack-Pres-  beCOme  obstructed,  and 

sure  Valve.  the  rubber  ball  would 

soon  be  destroyed.     As  a  back-pressure  valve,  the 
trap  may  be  quite  efficient. 

Fig.    138  shows  a  rather  complicated  form  of 


FIG.  138.— Knight's  Trap. 

•stench  trap,  the  invention  of  Thos.  G.  Knight,  of 
Brooklyn.  It  is  a  trap  with  a  floating  ball,  which 
is  expected  to  answer  the  double  purpose  of  sealing 
against  the  inlet  pipe  in  case  of  back-pressure,  and 


108 


against  the  seat  at  the  outlet,  in  the  case  of 
siphonage,  thus  preventing  the  escape  of  water  and 
leaving  the  seal  in  the  trap  unbroken.  The  idea 
of  the  trap  is  a  good  one,  but  its  shape  is  rather 
clumsy  and  much  too  large,  while  the  trap  itself  is 
a  reservoir  for  filth. 

We  will  now  briefly  consider  some  gravity  valve 
traps.  One  of  the  earlier  traps  of  this  group  m 
Waring's  sewer  gas  check  valve,  Fig.  139.  The 
objection  to  this,  as  well  as  to 
other  gravity  valves,  is,  that 
they  catch  hair,  lint,  etc.,, 
especially  at  the  valve  seat. 
The  valve  will  then  shut  im- 
perfectly and  render  the  me- 
chanical seal  useless.  For 
this  reason  the  inventor  him- 
self has  abandoned  the  use  of 
this  trap,  except  for  waste 
pipes  through  which  clean 
water  only  flows,  for  instance,, 
FIG.  l39.-Waring  Trap,  overflows  from  tanks. 

A  round  ball  of  heavy  rubber,  or  metal,  is  more 
apt  to  keep  itself  and  the  valve  seat  clean  by  re- 
volving. Such  a  valve  is  used  in  the  well-known 
Cudeli  sewer  gas  trap,  illustrated  in  Fig.  140.  It 
is  made  in  the  S,  half  S,  and  running-trap  shape, 
with  an  enlarged  chamber  containing  the  ball 
valve.  In  case  of  siphonage  or  evaporation,  it  is 
claimed  that  the  sinking  ball  will  efficiently  keep 
out  by  its  downward  pressure  on  its  seat  any  sewer 
gas.  The  trap  is  provided  on  top  of  the  chamber 
with  a  removable  cover,  for  cleaning  purposes.. 


109 


The  danger  with  a  cover  arranged  in  this  manner 
consists  in  its  being  on  the 
sewer  side  of  both  the  water 
and  mechanical  seal.  Any 
imperfection  in  the  joint 
would  render  the  double 
seal  perfectly  useless.  I  also 
object  to  the  shape  of  the 
Cud  ell  trap,  which  forms 
FIG.  140.— Cudeii  Trap.  corners  and  recesses  be- 
tween the  inner  chamber  and  the  outer  walls  of  the 
trap,  where  grease  and  filth  may  lodge.  This  objec- 
tion could  easily  be  overcome  by  giving  the  Cudell 
trap  the  shape  shown  in  Fig.  144  or  Fig.  145,  both  of 


FIG.  141. — Garland  Trap. 

which  sketches  represent  the  author's  suggestions 
for  a  gravity  ball  trap. 


110 

Almost  identical  with  the  Cudell  trap  are  three 
other  traps,  namely,  the  Garland  trap,  Fig.  141, 
Buchan's  trap,  Fig.  142,  and  Turner's  trap,  Fig. 
143.  Fig.  14 la  illustrates  a  washbowl  trapped  by 
a  Garland  trap. 


PiO.  141a.— Washbowl  trapped  by  a  Garland  Trap. 

The  well-known  English  manufacturer,  George 
Jennings,  has  devised  a  mechanical  trap,  with  a 
heavy  ball  valve,  and  shaped  rather  similar  to 
Claughton's  stench  trap  (Figs.  122  and  123).  Jen- 
nings' trap,  Fig.  146,  was  at  first  made  with  a  me- 
tallic seat,  but  the  patentee  himself  fearing  uncer- 
tainty of  action,  never  offered  it  to  the  public. 
Now  the  trap  is  provided  with  an  india-rubber 
seating,  and  the  heavy  ball  shuts  off  tightly.  Should 
the  water  in  the  trap  be  lost  by  evaporation  or 


Ill 


siphonage,   the    mechanical    seal    will    still,  it   is 
claimed,  keep  out  any  gases  from  the  waste  pipes. 


FIGS.  144  and  145.— The  author's  suggestion  for  improved  shape 
of  Cudell's  Trap. 

The  Bennor  siphon  trap,  Fig.  147,  is  very  similar 
to  the  Garland  trap,  and  needs  no  further  descrip- 
tion. 

Another  group  of  mechanical  traps  are  those 
with  flap  valves.  Fig.  148  shows  Clement's  patent 
trap,  made  entirely  of  brass,  with  a  vent  pipe 


112 


attachment,  wherever  an  air  pipe  is  required,  and 
with  a  cleaning  hole,  closed  tightly  by  a  cover,  and 


FIG.  147— Bennor's  Siphon 
Trap. 


FiQ.  146.— Jen- 
nings' Trap. 


Fio.  148  —Clement's  Trap. 


being  below  the  water  line,  which  is  important,  as 
the  fact  of  the  cover  not  shutting  tightly  is  shown 
by  leakage  of  water. 


113 


Stidder's  flap  valve  trap  is  shown  in  Fig.  149.  It. 


PIG.  149.— Stidder's  Patent  Flap  Valve  Trap. 

is  a  bottle  trap,  provided  for  additional  security 
against  gases,  with  a  flap  valve  at  the  outlet. 


Fia.  150.— Barrett's  Trap. 


114 


Barrett's  trap  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  150.  Here 
-the  flap  hangs  beyond  the  water  seal,  and  the  trap 
itself  is  shaped  much  like  an  S-trap. 

A  further  group  of  traps  are  the  mercury -sealed 
traps,  some  of  these  having,  in  addition  to  a  water 
seal,  a  seal  formed  by  a  cup  resting  with  its  edges 
in  mercury.  The  cup  is  lifted  at  each  discharge, 
and  allows  the  water  to  pass  to  the  outlet,  and 
when  the  flow  ceases,  the  cup  drops  back  and  forms 
a  seal.  Should  the  water  seal  be  lost  in  these  traps, 
there  is  still  the  mercury-seal  remaining.  Of  such 
traps,  I  mention  Nicholson's  mercury  seal  trap,  Fig. 
151,  and  Spratt's  mercury  seal  trap,  Fig.  152. 
Cohen's  trap,  Fig.  153,  is  a  mercury  seal  trap,  pat- 


FiG.  151.— Nicholson's 
Mercury  Seal  Trap. 


FIG.  153.— Spratt's  Mercury  seal  Trap. 


FIG.  153.— Cohen's  Mercury 
Trap. 


115 


ented  in  Germany.  It  holds  in  its  lowest  part  just 
sufficient  mercury  to  form  a  seal,  and  if  waste  water 
is  discharged,  the  head  of  water  forces  the  mercury 
into  an  enlargement  of  the  outer  leg  of  the  trap, 
until  equilibrium  is  restored.  This  trap  is  made  in 
glass  or  in  earthenware,  and  has  a  brass  cleaning 
stopper.  Another  mercury  seal  trap,  introduced 
quite  recently,  is  Edward's  "  metallic  bar  "  trap. 

A  large  number  of  traps  and  trap  attachments 
have  been  devised,  with  the  special  object  of  pre- 
venting the  siphoning  out  of 
the  water  in  the  trap.  I  will 
mention  a  few  of  these.  Ran- 
dolph's trap,  Fig.  154,  has  a 
double  gravity  valve,  its  shape 
being  otherwise  very  much  like 
the  Paragon  trap  (Fig.  104).  A 
glass  in  the  upper  side  of  the 
trap  enables  one  to  inspect  the 
working  of  the  ball  valves, 
which  is  as  follows:  When  in 
rest  there  is,  in  addition  to  the 
water  seal,  a  mechanical  seal 
by  the  ball,  which  is  half  im- 
mersed in  water.  The  second 
ball  valve  at  the  outlet  also 
shuts  off  by  its  weight,  but  in  case  of  undue  pres- 
sure, this  would  tend  to  lift  the  ball.  If  a  dis- 
charge occurs,  it  lifts  the  first  ball,  leaving  around 
it  a  water  way  through  which  the  water  flows  out. 
In  rising,  the  first  ball  torches  the  second  ball, 
which  is  also  lifted,  to  allow  the  water  to  pass 
freely.  As  soon  as  the  discharge  ceases,  both. 


FIG.    154.— Randolph's 
Trap. 


116 


valves  drop  back  into  their  seat.  If  a  suction  should 
occur,  the  valve  nearest  the  outlet  will  efficiently 
prevent  any  loss  of  water  by  siphonage.  The  trap 
is  safe  against  back-pressure,  and  absorption  of 
gases  is  rendered  almost,  if  not  entirely,  impossible. 
Whether  this  trap  is  self-cleansing  or  not,  I  am 
unable  to  say,  without  having  watched  it  under 
continuous  use. 

Fig.  155  illustrates  a  vertical  section  of  Morey's 
trap  attachment.  "  It  is 
soldered  on  traps  already 
in  use  at  the  highest  part 
of  the  bend.  Any  ten- 
dency of  the  water  passing 
through  the  discharge  pipe 
to  create  a  vacuum  causes 
FIG.  155.— Morey's  Trap  At-  the  valve  to  lift,  and  the 

fcachment.  . 

air  rushes   into   the   pipe, 

destroying  the  vacuum  and  preventing  the  trap 
being  drawn  dry.  The  suction  ceasing,  the  valve 
drops  by  its  gravity  into  its  seat,  forming  an  air- 
tight joint, preventing  the  escape  of  noxious  vapors." 
Fig.  156  shows  Scarborough's  trap,  which  is  said 
— I  to  be  non-siphoning.  It  is  an 
S-trap,  on  which  is  placed  an 
air  chamber  between  its  upper 
and  lower  bends.  Should  a  dis- 
charge occur  filling  the  full  bore 
of  the  waste  pipe,  there  is  a 

tendency  of  the  water  to  drop 
FIG    15«.  —  W.  Scar-  J 

borough's  Trap.  from  the  crown  of  the  trap  both 

ways,  that  is,  into  the  outlet  and  back  into  the 
body  of  the  trap.  There  is,  consequently,  a  ten- 


117 

dency  to  a  vacuum  at  the  crown  of  the  trap.  As 
this  is  connected  to  the  air  chamber,  water  is 
sucked  up  into  it.  When  the  suction  ceases,  this 
water  drops  back  into  the  body  of  the  trap  to  form 
a  seal.  The  air  chamber  should  be  so  proportioned 
as  to  hold  at  least  a  quantity  of  water  equal  to 
that  in  the  trap.  Such  a  device  may  work  well  for 
clean  water,  but  with  soapy  or  greasy  discharges,  it 
will  soon  get  clogged. 

Fig.  157   illustrates  the  author's  suggestion  for 


PIG.  157. — The  author's  suggestion  for  a  Non-Siphoning,  Self- 
Cleansing  Trap. 

a  non-siphoning  trap.     It  is  a  water  seal  trap,  pro- 


118 

vided  with  a  double-acting  ball  valve.  It  may  be 
made  of  brass  or  copper,  and  consists  of  an  S-trap, 
having  at  the  house-side  of  the  dip  a  globular  en- 
largement. There  is  a  removable  section  of  glass 
to  inspect  the  working  of  the  trap,  and  to  remove 
the  ball  in  case  it  should  get  dirty  or  water-soaked. 
The  floating  ball  may  be  made  of  india-rubber.  As 
it  appears  under  a  fixture  not  just  used,  it  is  really 
nothing  but  a  Bower's  trap,  of  improved  shape. 
In  case  of  a  discharge,  every  part  of  the  enlarged 
chamber  receives  a  washing  and  scouring ;  and 
moreover,  that  part  of  the  trap  having  an  S-shape, 
will  certainly  always  keep  clean;  The  ball  is  re- 
volved by  the  eddies  when  water  flows  through  the 
trap  and  increases  the  scouring  action  of  the  flow. 
Now,  suppose  a  siphonage  should  occur,  either  from 
a  discharge  of  the  fitting  itself,  or  from  a  discharge 
through  the  main  soil  pipe.  The  suction  will  re- 
move some  water  from  this  trap  until  the  light 
ball  drops  into  the  position  shown  by  dotted  lines. 
There  should  be  a  neatly-turned  seat  to  receive  the 
ball  in  order  to  have  it  shut  tightly.  Then  no  more 
water  can  be  sucked  out,  and  the  ascending  leg  of 
the  S-trap  will  remain  full  of  water.  When  the 
suction  ceases,  the  water  column  drops  back  and 
forms  a  suflicient  water  seal,  the  rubber  ball  floats 
on  the  water,  and  as  soon  as  the  next  discharge 
from  the  fitting  occurs,  is  brought  up  to  its  seat. 
Until  then  the  trap  is  simply  a  water-sealed  trap  ; 
but  no  matter  how  often  a  suction  may  occur,  it 
will  not  remove  the  quantity  of  water  left  in  the 
trap,  equivalent  in  capacity  to  the  contents  of  the 
ascending  leg. 


119 


Two  more  non-siphoning  traps  close  the  list, 
which  makes  no  pretension  at  all  to  be  complete. 
Fig.  158  is  a  common  S-trap,  furnished  at  its 


Fio.  158.— Pettenkofer's  Trap  Attachment. 

crown  with  Pettenkofer's  trap  attachment,  which 
prevents  the  siphoning  of  the  S-trap,  but  is  soon 


~7 

r 

I 

s 

•N 

l 

^  £-?: 

^  ^ 

1"  — 

fT 

\ 

—^ 

A 

—  s 

^- 

1 

FIG  150.— Renk's  Trap. 


120 

rendered  ineffective  through  evaporation  of  the 
the  water.  It  is  in  use  under  sinks  and  urinals  at 
the  Hygienic  Laboratory  of  the  University  of 
Munich,  and  was  devised  by  its  founder,  the  well- 
known  Prof.  Max  von  Pettenkofer,  and  in  this 
place  care  is  always  taken  to  refill  the  trap  attach- 
ment with  water.  For  general  use  it  cannot  be 
recommended. 

Dr.  Renk,  a  pupil  of  Pettenkofer,  has  suggested 
the  trap,  Fig.  159,  designed  with  the  special  object 
to  be  non-siphoning.  I  do  not  think  this  reservoir 
trap  is  self -cleansing,  nor  adapted  to  bowls  or  bath 
tubs. 


CHAPTER  VI 

INSECURITY    OF    THE     COMMON    WATER   SEAL    TRAPS. 


OF  all  traps  illustrated  in  the  foregoing  chapter, 
none  is  superior  in  point  of  cleanliness  to 
the  common  S-trap.  Experiments  with  such  traps, 
however,  have  proven  that  they  may  become, 
in  certain  cases,  most  dangerous  devices  in  a  house, 
for  the  following  reasons  : 

1.  Traps  may  be  forced  by  back-pressure. 

2.  They  may  lose  all  their  water,  when  their  fit- 
ting is  emptied,  by  the  momentum  of  the  water, 
rushing  suddenly  through  the  trap. 

3.  Traps  may  be  completely  siphoned,  or  at  least 
their  water  level  lowered  below  the  dip  in  the  trap, 
by  a  flow  from  another  fitting  on  the  same  branch 
pipe. 

4.  Traps  under  fixtures  may  be  siphoned  by  a 
sudden  flow  through  the  main  soil  pipe,  to  which 
these  fixtures  are  connected  by  branch  wastes. 

5.  If  fixtures  remain  unused  for  any  length  of 
time,  the  water  of  the  trap  may  evaporate  so  much 
as  to  destroy  the  seal. 

6.  With  traps  on  dead  ends  of  pipes,  or  with 
unventilated  soil  and  waste  pipes,  there  is  danger 
that  the  water  of  the  trap  absorbs  soil-pipe  gases, 
giving  them  off  on  the  house  side  of  the  trap.  Even 
germs  of  disease,  although  not  transmitted  through 
Water  without  motion,  are  said  by  scientific  inves- 
tigators to   be  liberated  from  the  water  if  such  is 


122 

violently  agitated,  as,  for  instance,  with  traps  under 
fittings,  when  a  discharge  through  such  fittings 
occurs. 

These  statements  are  also  more  or  less  true  of 
other  traps,  such  as  bell-traps,  bottle-traps,  D-traps, 
etc.  It  was  on  account  of  these  objections,  chiefly, 
that  the  more  complicated  mechanical  traps  were 
invented.  On  the  other  hand,  the  discovery  was 
soon  made  that  the  danger  from  siphonage  might 
be  greatly  lessened,  under  certain  conditions,  by 
emptying  each  branch  waste  pipe  independently 
into  the  main  soil  or  waste  pipe.  This,  however, 
cannot  always  be  done  in  buildings,  nor  is  it,  where 
it  can  be  done,  a  protection  against  loss  of  water 
seal  in  all  cases.  The  formation  of  a  partial  vacuum, 
and  therefore  siphonage,  can,  in  most  cases,  be  pre- 
vented by  attaching  a  vent  pipe  of  suitable  diam- 
eter to  the  crown  of  the  traps,  leading  its  open  end 
to  the  outer  air  (see  Fig.  160).  In  the  first  place, 
£  such  a  vent  pipe  renders 

traps  of  any  kind  practically 
safe  against  siphonage,  pro- 
vided its  size  is  such  as  not 
to  offer  too  much  frictional 
resistance  to  the  air  passing 
through  it  to  break  the  suc- 

pwithenttion-     Tt  is  <luite  apparent 
pipe  at  crown  of  trap.  that  the  diameter  of  the  air 

pipe  must  be  increased  in  proportion  to  its  length,  or, 
what  means  the  same,  to  the  height  of  the  building. 
I  lay  particular  stress  upon  this  point,  which 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  more  generally  under- 
stood. 


123 

The  vent  pipe  renders  traps  of  any  kind  safe 
against  back-pressure  and  absorption  of  gases. 

Such  air  pipes,  further,  prevent  any  stagnation 
of  foul  air  in  any  part  of  the  waste  pipe  system, 
and  as  such  are  powerful  and  important  helps  to  a 
thorough  ventilation  of  the  drainage  system.  This 
latter  fact  seems  to  have  been  overlooked  by  many 
who  regard  air  pipes  as  safety  attachments  against 
siphonage  only. 

In  applying  such  air  pipes  to  traps,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  each  fixture  should  have  an  independent 
vent  to  the  roof  ;  several  branch  vent  pipes  may  be 
connected  into  a  main  air  pipe  of  ample  size,  and 
this  may  run  along  the  soil  pipe  and  may  branch 
into  it  above  the  highest  fixture  (see  Fig.  161),  or 
else  it  may  run  above  the  roof  independently. 

While  admitting  that  such  air  pipes  render  S 
traps  practically  safe  against  most  of  the  above 
made  objections,  it  cannot  be  denied  on  the  other 
hand,  that  they  largely  increase  the  cost  of  plumb- 
ing in  dwellings,  especially  so,  where  fixtures  are 
much  scattered  throughout  the  house. 

First,  they  complicate  the  work  and  are  difficult 
to  run  in  old  buildings,  and  must  be  largely 
increased,  in  the  case  of  high  buildings,  towards 
the  upper  floors. 

Second,  they  increase  the  evaporation  of  water 
in  traps,  and  therefore  aggravate  the  danger  from 
sewer  gas  entering  through  fixtures  in  cases  where 
these  remain  unused  for  a  long  time. 

Third,  it  is  quite  possible  that  vent  pipes  stop 
up  in  time  at  the  crown  of  the  trap  with  splashings 
from  soap-suds,  when  they  will  cease  to  furnish  air 


Vj\ 


Jli 


FIG.  161.— Stack  of  air  pipe  for  a  number  of  S-traps.. 


125 


to  break  the  vacuum.  Unluckily,  such  fact  would 
not  reveal  itself,  and  is  not  easily  detected,  nor  is 
much  known  at  the  present  time  about  this  point. 

The  literature  on  this  subject  has  been  lately  en- 
riched by  numerous,  careful  and  valuable  experi- 
ments upon  the  siphonage  of  traps,  made  by  Col. 
Geo.  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  assisted  by  the  writer,  by 
Messrs.  Edw.  S.  Philbrick,  C.  E.,  and  Ernest  W. 
Bowditch,  C.  E.,  of  Boston,  by  Mr.  S.  Hellyer  of 
London,  England,  Dr.  Lissauer  of  Dantzic,  Ger- 
many, Dr.  Renk  of  Munich,  Germany,  and  others. 

The  results  of  the  first  mentioned  experiments 
are  greatly  at  variance,  and  seem  to  indicate,  that 
while  in  some  cases  traps  need  a  strong  protection 


FIG.  162.— S-trap  vented  to  prevent  a  long  dead  end  in  the  waste 
pipe. 

against  siphonage,  in  other  cases,  especially  where 
the  soil  and  waste  pipes  have  ample  ventilation,  and 


126 

branch  wastes  are  very  short,  such  protection  is  not 
required.  At  any  rate,  it  is  too  early  yet  to  estab- 
lish rules  which  apply  to  all  cases.  It  has  always 
seemed  to  me  as  if  it  would  be  feasible  to  practice 
a  wise  discrimination. 

"W  here  a  fixture  is  located  remote  from  a  vertical 
pipe,  and  consequently  discharges  through  a  long 
run  of  waste  pipe,  which  would  otherwise  form  a 
"  dead  end"  (see  Fig.  162),  it  is  positively  necessary 
to  run  a  vent  pipe  from  the  crown  of  the  trap  up- 
ward to  the  outer .  air,  which  prevents  in  the  first 
place  a  stagnation  of  air,  and  at  the  same  time  stops 
siphonage ;  and  this  is  true  of  any  kind  of  trap,  not 
only  of  the  class  of  traps  known  as  S-traps.  It 
should  apply  to  mechanical  traps  as  well. 


FIG.  163.— Non-siphoning  trap  under  bowl,  where  this  is  near  a 
thoroughly  ventilated  soil-pipe. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  such  fixture  is  located  quite 
near  to  a  vertical  thoroughly  ventilated  soil  pipe,  or 


127 

a  well  ventilated  horizontal  run  of  pipe  (see  Fig.  163), 
I  should  not  hesitate  to  place  under  the  fixture  a 
trap  which  is  not  easily  siphoned,  leaving  out  the  air 
pipe  if  there  is  no  vent  pipe  near  by  to  connect  to. 
Such  a  course  seems  especially  desirable  in  the  case 
of  high  buildings  for  single  fixtures  in  basements,  or 
on  lower  floors.  For  instance,  a  l£  inch  sink  trap 
in  the  basement  of  a  flat,  such  as  is  now  being 
erected  in  N.  Y.  City,  200  feet  in  height,  would 
require  an  air  pipe  at  least  3  or  4  inches  in  diame- 
ter to  prevent  siphonage,  the  friction  in  a  1-j-  or  2 
inch  pipe  two  hundred  feet  long  being  too  great  to 
allow  the  air  to  enter  quickly  enough  to  break  the 
suction.  I  would  consider  it  foolish  extravagance 
to  use  such  long  length  of  pipe  of  such  large  size 
for  the  trap  of  only  a  single  sink.  If  a  non-siphoning 
trap  could  not  be  made  to  answer  the  purpose,  the 
only  sensible  course  to  pursue  would  be  to  abandon 
such  fixture  entirely. 

I  must  further  say  that  it  seems  to  me  dangerous 
to  use  vented  S-traps  with  the  usual  water  seal  of 
only  1  £  or  2  inches  under  bowls  or  tubs  in  spare  or 
guest  rooms  of  large  city  residences,  and  for  such 
dwellings  generally  that  are  occupied  only  a  part 
of  the  year.  This  danger  is  generally  disregarded 
or  passed  over  lightly  by  enthusiasts  for  "  back  air 
piping."  My  personal  preference  in  such  cases 
would  always  be  for  a  non-siphoning  trap,  with  a 
water  seal  which  does  not  so  easily  evaporate,  or 
for  a  non-siphoning  trap  with  a  mechanical  seal 
against  gases  from  the  soil  pipe,  and  where  rules 
of  local  Boards  of  Health  would  demand  such  an 
air  pipe  under  such  conditions,  I  should  probably 


128 

advise  the  use  of  a  tight-shutting  stop-valve  on  the 
waste  pipe,  and  combined  with  it  an  arrangement 
for  simultaneous  shutting  off  the  hot  and  cold  water 
supply  to  the  fixture,  so  as  to  render  an  overflow 
impossible.  I  am  quite  ready  to  admit  that  the 
latter  arrangement  would  tend  to  complicate  the 
plumbing  work,  but,  I  think,  everybody  must  con- 
cede that,  under  the  conditions  mentioned,  it  would 
be  safer  than  a  vented  S-trap  with  usual  slight  seal. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  in  the  foregoing 
chapter  of  non-siphoning  traps.  A  bottle-trap, 
with  a  deep  seal,  will  answer  in  many  localities, 
and  the  Bower  trap  likewise  answers  for  this  pur- 
pose. Pietsch's  trap  may  be  called  a  non-siphoning 
trap,  although  objectionable  on  account  of  the  flap- 
valve.  There  is  Knight's  trap,  clumsy  and  not 
self -cleansing  ;  Randolph's  trap  with  double  ball- 
valve  ;  and  Wm.  Scarborough's  trap.  In  Fig.  157 
the  writer  has  suggested  a  non-siphoning  trap ;  some 
experiments,  made  with  a  rather  primitive  model, 
proved  it  to  be  efficient  against  siphonage.  Morey's 
trap  attachment  (Fig.  155)  may  be  efficient  while 
new,  but  the  valve  may  get  out  of  order  after  some 
use,  and  then  it  would  open  a  road  to  sewer-gas, 
without  any  warning  whatever.  Pettenkof  er's  trap 
attachment  (Fig.  158)  may  answer  very  well  where 
people  will  take  the  trouble  to  refill  the  trap  at- 
tachment every  other  day,  but  for  general  use  it  is 
entirely  unfit.  Renk's  non-siphoning  trap  ( Fig.  1 5  9  ) 
is  much  to  be  preferred,  but  the  objection  must  be 
made  against  it,  that  it  becomes  a  reservoir  for  filth. 

In  this  connection,  I  must  make  mention  of  an 
apparatus  for  preserving  the  water-seal  of  traps,, 


129 


called  the  "  Eureka  Trap  Governor."  This  device 
is  the  invention  of  Mr.  C.  Lightbody  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  Its  object  is  to  prevent  the  loss  of  the 
water-seal  in  traps,  either  through  evaporation  or 
siphona.'.e,  by  connecting  the  trap  by  a  special  pipe 
with  the  water  supply,  in  such  a  manner  that  when 
any  loss  of  water  occurs,  a  new  supply  of  fresh 
water  is  immediately  admitted.  Fig.  164  shows  a 


Fro.  164.— Eureka  Trap  Governor. 


section  and  partial  view  of  the  apparatus.  "A  small 
cast  iron  tank  (15  inches  in  extreme  length  by  7 
inches  in  depth),  made  in  two  vertical  sections  of 
equal  size,  fastened  together  by  screws,  contains  a 
copper  float  connected  by  a  brass  arm  with  a  valve 
in  a  J  inch  coupling  to  be  connected  with  the 
water  supply.  From  one  end  of  the  tank,  near  the 
bottom,  a  J  inch  pipe  is  taken  to  the  lower  bend  of 
the  trap,  as  shown.  The  governor  is  so  adjusted 
that  any  fall  of  water  in  the  trap  will  open  the 
valve  until  the  entire  seal  is  restored.  The  tank  i& 
to  be  fastened  by  screws  on  the  wall  near  the  trap, 
by  means  of  lugs  on  the  back  side.  In  th'e  front  of 
the  tank  is  a  glass  window  showing  a  portion  of 
the  float;  this  is  not  seen  in  the  drawing,  as  a  larger 


130 

surface  is  broken  away  to  show  the  whole  float." 
There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  efficiency  of 
such  a  device,  although  it  would  somewhat  increase 
the  expense  of  fitting  up  plumbing  fixtures.  An 
objection  to  such  an  apparatus  would  seem  to  be 
the  danger  that  the  ball  cock  would  leak,  which 
fact  would  not  become  apparent.  From  a  sanitary 
point,  such  a  leakage  would  not  be  objectionable, 
as  it  would  tend  to  change  the  water  in  the  trap 
constantly,  but  this  latter  object  could  be  just  as 
well  attained  by  keeping  a  dribbling  stream  running 
from  the  faucet  into  the  fixture.  Yet  it  must  be 
said,  that  such  arrangement  would  largely  increase 
the  waste  of  water,  which  is  already  a  source  of 
serious  trouble  to  Water  Departments  ;  therefore, 
the  apparatus  is  not  likely  to  meet  with  favor. 

Valuable  scientific  researches  have  also  been  made 
relating  to  the  absorption  of  gases  by  the  water  in 
traps.  Dr.  Andrew  Fergus  of  Glasgow  was  the 
first  to  experiment  on  this  point,  and  his  conclusions, 
though  valuable,  were  modified  and  corrected  by  the 
results.of  experiments  made  by  Dr.  Neil  Carmichael, 
Edward  Frankland,  Prof.  Raphael  Pumpelly,  Dr. 
Wernich  and  Naegeli  in  Germany,  and  others. 

It  is  now  generally  accepted  that,  with  a  thor- 
oughly ventilated  soil  and  waste  pipe  system,  little, 
if  any,  absorption  of  gases  by  the  water  of  traps 
occurs.  Even  should  such  water  contain  germs  of 
disease,  they  are  not  supposed  to  be  liberated  from 
it  unless  the  water  is  violently  agitated.  In  other 
words,  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  feeling 
anxiety  in  regard  to  absorption  of  deleterious  gases 
by  water-seal  traps. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DEFECTS    IN    THE    PLUMBING    WORK    OF    DWELLINGS. 

T  EAD  is  the  material  usually  employed  for 
J— >  branch  waste  pipes  connecting  fixtures  with 
the  main  soil  pipe  system.  Lead  pipe  of  small  di- 
ameter is  more  easily  run  than  an  iron  pipe,  and 
although  it  is  quite  feasible  to  run  asphalted 
wrought-iron  waste  pipes  of  small  size  to  wash- 
basins, tubs,  or  sinks,  it  must  be  conceded  that  lead 
offers  certain  advantages,  especially  in  crooked 
runs,  in  corners,  and  under  floors.  Foremost  among 
the  advantages  should  be  mentioned  the  fact  that 
the  least  number  of  joints  are  required  with  lead 
pipe.  For  more  than  one  reason,  however,  it  is 
very  desirable  to  avoid  supply  and  waste  pipes 
in  concealed  places  :  it  is  a  matter  of  common  oc- 
currence with  lead  waste  pipes  located  under  the 
floor,  to  have  nails  driven  by  a  carpenter's  careless 
hand,  into  the  upper  part  of  the  waste.  Unfortu- 
nately, such  a  fact  is  not  generally  discovered  at 
once;  the  hole  being  on  the  top,  it  may  not  leak 
water,  but  it  will  certainly  leak  sewer-gas. 

Where  lead  waste  pipes  escape  such  a  treatment 
from  carpenters,  they  are  subject  to  the  danger  of 
being  gnawed  by  rats.  If  concealed  under  floors, 
waste  pipes  are  often  run  at  a  dead  level,  or  where 
proper  fall  has  been  given  to  them  at  the  time  the 
work  was  done,  a  subsequent  sagging  may  occur,. 


132 

owing  to  insufficient  support,  and  the  pipe,  conse- 
quently, becomes  double  trapped  or  air  bound. 
Here,  as  in  regard  to  plumbing  fixtures,  the  rule 
should  be  observed,  to  leave  as  much  as  possible  in 
plain  sight  and  open  to  inspection. 

Defective  joints  in  lead  pipe  are  due  to  ignorance 
and  inability  of  mechanics.  Lead  pipe  should  al*- 
ways  be  connected  with  "wiped  joints,"  which  tech- 
nical expression  means  that  the  joint  should  be  made 
with  solder  wiped  in  a  shapely  oval  lump  around 
it.  Very  often  the  back  part  of  such  joints  is 
found  defective,  the  solder  having  dropped  off. 
Where  joints  are  out  of  sight,  the  wiped  joint  is 
usually  carelessly  made  and  unevenly  shaped;  but 
of  tener  still  the  plumber  rests  satisfied  with  making 
a  "  cup  joint,"  which  is  not  as  strong  nor  workman- 
like in  appearance  as  the  wiped  joint. 

Where  lead  pipes  are  joined  to  hubs  of  cast-iron 
pipe  a  careless  workman  often  inserts  the  lead  pipe 
into  the  iron  hub,  filling  the  space  with  cement  or 
putty.  Such  joints  are  not  to  be  trusted,  as  putty 
and  cement  crumble  away  in  a  short  time,  thus  al- 
lowing the  escape  of  noxious  gases. 

The  proper  way  to  make  such  joints  is  to  use  a 
tinned  brass  ferrule,  which  is  inserted  into  the  cast- 
iron  hub,  the  joint  being  thoroughly  caulked  as  in 
iron  pipes;  the  lead  pipe  is  connected  to  the  brass 
ferrule  by  a  wiped  joint.  Where  lead  pipe  joins  a 
wrought-iron  or  brass  pipe,  the  connection  is  made 
with  a  brass  screw  nipple,  soldered  to  the  lead  and 
tightly  screwed  with  red  lead  into  the  iron  or  brass 
fitting,  which  is  tapped  to  the  standard  thread. 

A  radical  defect  exhibited  in  the  common  sys- 


133 

terns  of  plumbing  is  the  use  of  waste  pipes  much 
too  large  for  the  office  they  have  to  perform. 
Think  of  a  2  in.  lead  waste  pipe  for  a  single  wash- 
bowl having  only  a  1 J  in.  coupling  and  strainer,  or 
a  3  in.  waste  for  laundry  tubs  !  Such  pipes  cannot 
possibly  remain  well  flushed,  but  must  soon  become 
coated  with  filth,  or  even  clog  up  entirely. 

For  ordinary  pressure  of  water  in  the  supply 
mains  a  1J  in.  waste  for  a  bowl  is  ample;  a  l£  in. 
pipe  empties  a  bath-tub  or  a  laundry  tray  as  quick- 
ly as  any  one  may  desire;  even  for  a  pantry  or  a 
kitchen  sink  anything  beyond  H  in.  is  a  positive 
injury,  and  larger  wastes  are  sure  to  choke  up  with 
grease  in  a  short  time.  Not  only  is  the  first  cost 
of  the  lead  piping  greater,  but  such  extravagant 
sizes  lead  to  stoppages  and  consequent  bills  for  re- 
pairs, which  can  be  avoided  by  doing  the  work 
right  in  the  first  place.  But  even  in  these  enlight- 
ened days  it  is  rare  to  find  house-owners  who  will 
listen  to  disinterested  advice  on  such  subjects. 
Most  of  them  still  prefer  to  pay  the  price  of  the 
larger  pipe  in  order  to  be  sure  that  their  waste  pipe 
is  "  big  enough  to  pass  anything  coming  into  it." 

Another  mistake  frequently  made  is  to  use  for 
such  waste  pipes  traps  of  a  larger  diameter  than 
the  pipe.  A  short  time  ago  I  had  occasion  to  ex- 
amine the  plumbing  in  a  country  residence  that 
had  just  been  completed  for  a  wealthy  New  York 
merchant.  The  lead  waste  pipe  from  the  kitchen 
sink  was  2  in.  in  diameter,  with  a  3  in.  trap;  the 
bowls  had  1J  in.  wastes  and  2  in.  Du  Bois  traps; 
the  bath-tub  had  2  in.  wastes  and  a  6  inch  bottle 
trap;  the  waste  from  the  laundry  tubs  was  3  in. 


134 

in  size  with  a  4  in.  trap.  Under  no  circumstance 
whatever  should  any  trap  be  of  larger  calibre  than 
the  waste  pipe ;  in  my  own  practice  I  prefer  to  re- 
duce the  size  of  the  trap  \  or  -J  in.,  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  scouring  effect  of  the  waste  water. 

It  would  be  impossible  completely  to  enumerate 
all  defects  found  in  the  plumbing  of  city  and  coun- 
try dwellings.  Some  of  the  graver  and  more  com- 
mon faults  have  been  explained  in  the  foregoing 
chapters.  Of  others  I  merely  mention:  the  connec- 
tion of  drip  pipes  to  the  soil  pipe  system  or  to 
traps;  the  connection  of  the  overflow  from  drinking 
water  tanks  or  water-closet  cisterns  to  soil  or  waste 
pipes;  the  direct  connection  of  refrigerator  wastes 
to  any  part  of  the  drainage  system;  the  running  of 
vent  pipes  from  closet  bowls  into  soil  pipes;  the 
running  of  soil  or  waste  pipes  into  chimney-flues; 
the  use  of  rain  leaders  as  soil  and  waste  pipes;  the 
use  of  soil  pipes  as  rain  leaders ;  the  use  of  rain 
leaders  as  only  ventilators  of  house  drains;  un- 
trapped  leaders  opening  near  dormer  windows;  the 
trapping  of  fixtures  at  a  distance  from  the  soil  pipe ; 
the  use  of  one  trap  for  a  number  of  fixtures;  the 
double  trapping  of  fixtures;  the  running  of  air 
pipes  for  traps  into  ventilation  flues;  the  connection 
between  air  pipes  from  traps  and  vent  pipes  from 
closet  bowls;  the  junction  between  air  pipes  and 
traps  made  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  trap,  etc. 

With  such  a  large  and  by  no  means  exhausted  list 
of  possible  defects  in  the  plumbing  of  a  house, 
the  importance  of  a  general  house  ventilation  can- 
not be  too  often  stated.  The  occupants  of  a  house 
may  sometimes  continue  to  enjoy  good  health  in 


135 

the  face  of  such  dangerous  defects  as  long  as 
ample  provision  is  made  for  ventilation,  and  so 
long  as  a  current  of  pure  air  daily  sweeps  through 
all  rooms  and  closets  of  a  dwelling.  With  no 
exit  for  foul  air,  let  the  poison  once  accumulate  in 
a  house  and  the  consequences  may  be  serious. 

The  conclusions  which  may  be  drawn  from  what 
has  been  said  above  are  two-fold,  namely  •  first, 
that  by  providing  a  dwelling  with  modern  con- 
veniences, having  for  their  object  comfort,  cleanli- 
ness and  promotion  of  health  at  home,  we  also 
create  the  danger  of  air  pollution  in  dwellings,  and 
that  although  it  is  quite  possible  to  have  such  fix- 
tures well  and  safely  arranged,  such  a  result  can 
hardly  be  expected  from  the  average  mechanic,  and 
that  the  best  course  for  a  house-owner  is  to  pro- 
cure professional  advice  at  an  early  stage  of  house 
building.  Second,  that  no  matter  how  well  the 
system  may  have  been  planned,  conceived  and  con- 
structed, it  needs  looking  after  from  time  to  time, 
same  as  any  other  engineering  structure,  and  just 
here  let  me  remind  the  reader  of  the  importance  of 
having  on  permanent  record  the  location  of  all 
pipes,  fixtures,  traps,  etc.,  inside  a  dwelling,  in 
order  to  facilitate  inspection  and  repairs. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  close  this  chapter 
with  the  following  excellent  remarks  from  Dr. 
Simon  : 

"A  very  large  danger  to  the  public  health,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  better  off  classes  of  society,  has  of  late 
years  consisted  in  the  recklessness  with  which  house 
drains,  receiving  pipes  from  water  closets,  sinks,  cis- 
terns, baths,  etc.,  in  the  interior  of  houses,  and  often. 


136 

actually  within  bed-rooms  or  the  adjoining  dressing- 
rooms,  have  been  brought  into  communication  with 
sewers.  Among  architects  and  builders  there  seems  to 
have  been  very  imperfect  recognition  of  the  danger 
which  this  arrangement  must  involve,  in  event  either  of 
unskillful  first  construction  or  of  subsequent  misman- 
agement or  want  of  repairs. 

Then,  in  regard  to  construction,  an  almost  unlimited 
trust  has  been  placed  in  artisans  who  not  only  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  understand  certain  of  the  finer 
conditions  (as  to  atmospheric  pressure)  which  they  had 
to  meet,  but  who  also,  in  not  a  few  instances,  have  evi- 
dently failed  to  apprehend  that  even  their  mechanical 
work  required  conscientious  execution.  (The  italics  are 
mine).  Under  influence  of  the  latter  deficiency,  there 
have  been  left  in  innumerable  cases  all  sorts  of  escape 
holes  for  sewer  effluvia  into  houses,  and  disjointed 
drains  effusing  their  filth  into  basements:  while,  under 
the  other  deficiency,  house  drainage,  though  done  with 
good  workmanlike  intention,  has  often,  for  want  of 
skilled  guidance,  been  left  entirely  without  exterior 
ventilation,  and  sometimes  has,  in  addition,  had  the  over- 
flow pipes  of  baths  or  cisterns  acting  as  sewer  ventila- 
tors into  the  house ;  and  all  this  not  infrequently  in 
places  where  the  sewer  itself,  from  which  so  much  air 
has  been  invited,  has  been  an  ill-conditioned  and  un ven- 
tilated sort  of  cesspool. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  say  that  under  circum- 
stances of  this  sort,  a  large  quantity  of  enteric  fever 
has  been  insured,  and  I  should  suppose  that  also  a  very 
large  quantity  of  other  filth  diseases  must  have  sprung 
from  the  same  cause.  Then  there  has  been  the  vast 
quantity  of  interior  air  fouling  which  arises  from  mis- 
management of  drain  inlets,  or  from  non  repair  of  worn 
out  apparatus  ;  as  when  sink  traps,  injudiciously  made 
movable,  have  been  set  aside ;  or  when  pipes  under 
temporary  disuse,  having  evaporated  all  water  from 
their  traps  or  leaden  closet  pipes,  with  holes  corroded  in 
them,  have  been  left  fouling  the  house  with  a  continu- 


137 

ous  eructation  of  sewer  air.  Again,  in  poor  neighbor- 
hoods, water-closets  have,  in  many  cases,  been  con- 
structed with  scanty  and  ill-arranged  water  service  to 
flush  them  or  have  even  been  left  to  only  such  flushing 
as  the  slop  water  of  the  house  or  the  other  water  thrown 
in  by  hand  might  give  ;  and  again  and  again  these 
ill-watered  and  often  obstructed  closets  have  been  found 
acting,  on  a  large  scale,  as  causes  of  disease. 

Again,  a  different  sort  of  danger,  and  one  which 
seems  capable  of  wide  operation,  has  been  seen  to  arise 
where  water-closets  received  their  water  service  from 
the  mains  of  a  so-called  *  constant '  supply,  for  supplies 
called  constant  must  not  only  sometimes  intermit  for 
purposes  of  necessary  repair,  but  also  in  some  cases  are 
habitually  cut  off  during  the  hours  of  night,  and  the 
danger  is  that  during  times  of  intermission,  if  there  be 
not  service  boxes  or  cisterns  between  the  privy  taps 
and  the  main  privy,  effluvia,  and  even  in  some  cases 
fluid  filth,  will  be  (so  to  speak)  sucked  from  closet  pans 
into  water  pipes." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CELLAR   DRAINS    AND    DRAINAGE    OF    CELLARS. 


proceeding  to  examine  the  external 
sewerage  of  houses,  let  us  descend  into  the 
cellar,  for,  although  commonly  it  is  the  most  neg- 
lected and  least  thought  of  part  of  a  dwelling, 
its  sanitary  condition  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  the 
well-being  of  the  occupants  of  the  house.  I  think 
I  am  not  mistaken  in  saying  that  from  the  condi- 
tion of  a  cellar  one  may,  with  tolerable  accuracy, 
draw  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  healthiness  of 
the  whole  house.  In  the  first  place  a  cellar  should 
be  thoroughly  ventilated,  for  much  of  the  air  of  a 
cellar  is  drawn  into  the  upper  rooms  of  a  house, 
particularly  in  winter  time,  when  stoves  and  fire- 
places create  a  constant  suction  toward  the  rooms. 

Moreover,  where  hot-air  furnaces  are  placed  in 
the  cellar,  these  generally  draw  their  air  supply 
directly  from  the  cellar,  or,  where  a  cold  air  box  has 
been  provided,  it  is  constructed  of  wood,  in  a 
wretched  manner,  being  full  of  cracks  and  open 
seams,  through  which  the  tainted  atmosphere  of 
the  cellar  enters,  to  be  carried  in  a  heated  state  to 
the  upper  floors  of  the  dwelling. 

It  is  all-important  that  the  cellar  floor  should  be 
thoroughly  dry  and  tight  ;  nothing  is  more  injuri- 
ous to  health  than  ground-air,  which  is  often  tainted 
with  sewer  gases  from  leakage  of  drains,  or  from 


139 

cesspools,  located  under  the  cellar  of  a  house,  or 
from  heaps  of  garbage  and  refuse,  constituting  the 
soil  upon  which  many  of  our  habitations  are  being 
constantly  erected,  notwithstanding  all  earnest 
protests  from  the  most  prominent  sanitarians.  A 
cellar  should  be  well-lighted,  for  this  will  aid  in 
keeping  it  in  good  order  and  will  promote  cleanli- 
ness. Cellars  should  never  be  used  for  the  storage 
of  vegetables,  nor  should  any  kind  of  rubbish  be 
left  there  to  decompose.  They  should  not  be  made 
hiding  places  for  old  rags,  worn-out  clothing,  tin- 
cans;  and,  above  all,  the  darkest  corner,  or  the 
place  under  the  cellar  stairway,  should  never  be 
chosen  for  a  servants'  water  closet. 

If  the  cellar  is  low,  and  apt  to  be  damp  or  even 
wet  at  times,  proper  drainage  must  not  be  neglected. 
But  under  no  circumstances  whatever  establish  a 
direct  connection  between  the  cellar,  or  the  sub- 
soil under  the  cellar,  and  the  sewer.  You  invite 
sewer  gas  into  your  house  by  doing  so.  Do  not 
place  any  reliance  upon  the  common  S-trap,  with 
shallow  water  seal,  on  the  line  of  the  cellar  drain ; 
it  is  too  often  rendered  useless  by  the  evaporation 
of  the  water  forming  the  seal.  Still  worse  is  the 
common  so  called  "cesspool  or  stench  trap" 


FIGS.  165  and  166.— Cesspool  or  Stench  Trap. 

for     cellar    floors,    provided    with     a    bell-trap 


140 

of  improper  shape  and  much  too  insufficient 
water  seal,  which  is  often  rendered  ineffective 
when  the  loose  strainer  gets  lost.  If  there  must 
be  an  opening  in  the  cellar  floor  to  remove  water 
after  scrubbing  floors,  or  in  case  of  an  unexpected 
leakage  of  water  into  the  cellar,  this  opening  should 
be  of  moderate  size  and  covered  with  a  strainer, 
and  the  branch  drain  leading  from  it  to  the  main 
house  drain  should  be  trapped  by  a  trap  with  very 
deep  seal,  not  liable  to  be  easily  lost  through  evap- 
oration. The  author  uses  in  his  own  practice  an 
S-trap  for  cellar  floor  drains,  which  has  a  depth 
of  water  seal  of  six  inches,  and  presents  a  small 
surface,  so  that  it  is  not  easily  affected  by  evapora- 
tion. Should,  however,  the  sewer  in  the  street  be 


CELLAR 


FIG.  167.— S-trap  for  cellar  floor  drains. 

subject  to  back-flooding  from  the  tide  or  an  unusual 
rise  of  a  river,  or  should  its  size  be  insufficient  to* 
carry  off  heavy  rainstorms,  the  cellar  would  be  in 
constant  danger  of  being  flooded  by  backwater  and. 


141 

sewage,  in  which  case — upon  the  water  receding — 
deposits  of  foul  matters  are  left  on  the  cellar  floor. 
In  such  cases  I  strongly  advise  doing  away  with 
the  opening  in  the  cellar  floor,  or  else  I  should 
insist  on  the  use  of  some  back  pressure  or  tidal 
valve  on  the  drain  outlet. 

The  cellar  is  usually  the  place  where  the  various 
soil  and  waste  pipes  of  a  dwelling  are  connected  or 
combined  into  one  main  drain,  the  cellar  or  house 
drain. 

Mr.  Dempsey,  an  English  civil  engineer,  speaks 
about  the  arrangement  of  house  drains  as  follows, 
in  his  book,  "  Drainage  of  Towns  and  Buildings  : " 

"The  first  step  in  the  arrangement  is  to  collect  the 
whole  of  the  drainage  to  one  point,  the  head  of  the  in- 
tended draining  apparatus,  and  the  determination  of 
this  point  requires  a  due  consideration  of  its  relation  to 
the  other  extremity  of  the  drain  at  which  the  discharge 
into  the  sewer  is  to  take  place.  In  buildings  of  great 
extent  this  will  sometimes  involve  a  good  deal  of  ar- 
rangement, and  it  will,  perhaps,  become  desirable  to 
divide  the  entire  drainage  into  two  or  more  points  of 
delivery,  and  conduct  it  in  so  many  separate  drains  to 
the  receiving  sewer.  The  length  of  each  drain  being  thus, 
reduced  to  a  manageable  extent,  the  necessary  fall  will  be 
more  readily  commanded,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  system 
secured.  *  *  If  the  rain  water  falling  on  the  roof  of  the 
building,  and  on  the  yard  or  space  attached  to  the 
house,  is  not  applied  to  any  other  purpose,  it  will  have 
to  be  conducted  into  the  drain  to  be  discharged  with 
the  sewage.  These  waters,  being  purest  of  the  contents, 
should  be  received  as  near  as  possible  to  the  head  of  the 
drain,  and  made  to  traverse  its  entire  length,  and  thus 
exert  all  the  cleansing  action  of  which  they  are  capable." 

In  most  houses  built  more  than  five  years  ago- 


142 

you  will  find  the  main  drain  buried  below  the 
floor,  in  inaccessible  locations,  its  position  being 
often  quite  unknown.  In  such  houses  glazed 
^earthen  or  cement  pipes  are  used  for  house  drains, 
out  the  drain  of  old  buildings  was  usually  built  of 
brick,  often  square  in  shape  (see  Fig.  168),  much  too 
large  in  size,  and  with  insufficient 
or  no  fall.  Sometimes  troughs  of 
wood  were  used  to  carry  off  waste 
waters.  All  such  drains  are  sure  to 
FIG.  168.— Brick  accumulate  deposits  and  to  gen- 
erate disease-breeding  gases  of  de- 
cay. Brick  drains  under  houses  are  generally 
harboring  places  for  rats,  the  cement  of  the 
joints  crumbles  away,  bricks  loosen  and  fall  out, 
and  the  drains  become  leaky,  or  partly  choked. 
Sometimes,  in  examining  old  houses,  I  have  ob- 
served that  vitrified  pipes  had  been  laid  under  the 
floor  to  take  the  place  of  the  brick  drain,  the  latter 
being  simply  cut  off,  but  left,  full  of  decomposing 
fllth,  under  the  building.  Even  vitrified  pipes  of 
proper  shape  should  never  be  used  for  drains  under 
a  dwelling  house  ;  they  often  crack  through  set- 
tlement, and  have  leaky  joints,  and  the  floor  under 
cellars  becomes  saturated  with  sewage.  It  is  im- 
possible properly  to  connect  an  upright  soil  or 
waste  pipe  to  an  earthen  drain,  for  no  matter  how 
well  the  iron  pipe  may  be  cemented  into  the  hub 
of  the  terra  cotta  drain,  a  settlement  of  the  soil 
pipe  will  break  off  the  hub  ;  in  other  cases  the 
earthen  drain  settles  away  from  the  soil  pipe,  leav- 
ing an  opening  between  both,  through  which  all 
sewage  matter  is  discharged  onto  the  ground  under 


IS 

I 

I 


143 

the  cellar.  The  author  lately  had 
occasion  to  see  such  a  defective 
connection  in  a  fine  residence  on 
Madison  avenue  (see  Fig.  169). 
If  the  house  drain  must  be 
laid  under  the  cellar  floor  it 
should  consist  of  heavy  iron 

FIG.  169.— Earthen          .  .  ,          „     .    .  ,   .    . 

Drain.  pipes  with  well-tightened  joints 

and  should  be  made  accessible  in  a  few  proper 
places  to  provide  means  for  removing  accidental 
or  malicious  obstructions  or  stoppages,  which  are 
liable  to  occur  even  in  the  best  devised  and  best 
constructed  system  of  house  drainage. 

The  necessity  of  running  the  house  drain  below 
the  cellar  floor  exists  only  in  rare  cases.  In  most 
cases  it  is  possible  to  banish  plumbing  fixtures  from 
cellars,  to  find  a  better  lighted  place  for  the  laundry 
and  washing  tubs,  and  a  place  for  the  servants' 
closet  free  from  the  objections  heretofore  made. 
In  such  case  it  is  best  to  run  the  house  drain  of 
iron  pipe  across  the  cellar,  either  along  a  founda- 
tion wall,  or  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  This 
brings  the  drain  in  sight  for  inspections,  and 
it  is  a  recognized  principle  of  modern  house 
drainage  that  as  little  as  possible  of  waste  pipes 
and  of  the  plumbing  work  in  general  should  be 
hidden  from  view. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

USUAL  DEFECTS    OF  HOUSE  DRAINS;    SEWER  CONNEC- 
TIONS;   PRIVY  VAULTS  AND  CESSPOOLS. 

IT  behooves  us  now  to  inquire  into  the  external 
sewerage  of  the  dwelling.  Faults  of  the  interior 
drainage  work  contribute,  as  we  have  seen,  a  large 
share  to  the  pollution  of  the  atmosphere  which  we- 
breathe;  faulty  external  sewerage,  besides  being: 
the  cause  of  a  vitiation  of  the  air,  creates  a  most 
dangerous  pollution  of  the  soil  around  and  under 
habitations,  and  likewise  frequently  poisons  the 
water  from  wells  and  springs. 

Hence  it  is  a  mistake,  which,  however,  is  fre- 
quently made,  especially  in  rural  districts,  to 
neglect  the  outside  drainage  of  a  dwelling.  The 
water  which  we  drink  must  be  as  pure  and  whole- 
some as  the  air  we  breathe  ;  and  since  country 
houses  depend  most  always  upon  a  well  or  cistern 
situated  near  the  house  for  the  supply  of  this  indis- 
pensable element,  the  external  sewerage  of  such 
houses  is  of  greater  importance  even  than  that  of 
city  houses.  But  in  both  cases  the  teachings  of  san- 
itary science  require  a  proper  care  in  laying  such 
external  drains  which  should  remove  at  once  from 
habitations  all  sewage  matters. 

The  defects  usually  found  in  external  drain  pipes 
are  numerous.  They  relate  to  the  construction  of 
the  drain,  to  the  manner  of  jointing  pipes  and  lay- 
ing drains,  to  the  materials  used  for  such  drains,  to 


145 

their  size  and  shape,  and  to  junctions  with  branch 
drains  and  with  the  street  sewer.  Foremost 
among  them  I  mention  leaky  joints,  for  these 
work  multifold  harm.  Not  only  does  the  liquid 
soak  away  into  the  soil  to  find  its  way  to 
the  nearest  well  or  spring,  but  a  constant 
accumulation  and  gradual  saturation  of  the  soil 
with  filth  is  inevitable.  Again,  deposits  will  occur 
in  the  pipes,  as  the  force  of  the  flush  is  to  a  great 
extent  lost,  if  the  waste  water  soaks  away  at  the 
joints,  and  the  solid  part  of  the  remaining  sewage 
in  the  pipes  must  soon  decompose  and  fill  the  pipes 
with  gases  of  decay. 

A  second  cause  of  deposits  in  house  drains  is  an 
irregular  or  insufficient  inclination  of  the  pipe. 
How  seldom  it  is  that  the  simple  precaution  is 
observed  of  taking  levels  to  ascertain  the  available 
fall  from  the  point  where  the  drain  leaves  the 
house  to  the  junction  with  the  sewer.  Hence  we 
often  find  house  drains  sloping  the  wrong  way, 
being  in  reality  nothing  but  "  elongated  cesspools." 
How  easy  would  it  be  to  avoid  such  mistakes  by 
the  use  of  even  a  common  spirit  level ! 

A  further  grave  defect  is  the  almost  universal 
preference  of  drain-layers  and  ignorant  builders 
for  large  pipes.  Not  many  years  ago  nine  and 
even  twelve-inch  pipes  were  used  for  the  drainage 
of  an  ordinary  city  house  and  lot  ;  only  lately  six- 
inch  house  drains  have  been  used  for  the  average 
sized  city  dwelling,  and  a  four- inch  pipe,  which 
answers  for  most  city  or  country  houses,  except 
for  unusually  large  residences,  is  still  the  exception. 
The  larger  the  pipe  for  a  given  amount  of  water 


146 

the  more  sluggish  will  the  velocity  of  the  stream 
be,  and  thus  we  find  in  the  large  size  of  drains 
another  cause  of  accumulation  of  deposits. 

Mr.  Dempsey,  C.  E.,  in  his  "  Drainage  of  Towns 
and  Buildings,"  says  : 

"  Sewers  and  drains  were  formerly  devised  with  the 
single  object  of  making  them  large  enough,  by  which  it 
was  supposed  that  their  full  efficiency  was  secured.  But 
sluggishness  of  action  is  now  recognized  as  the  certain 
consequence  of  excess  of  surface,  equally  as  of  deficiency 
of  declination.  A  small  stream  of  liquid  matter,  ex- 
tended over  a  wide  surface,  and  reduced  in  depth  in 
proportion  to  the  width,  suffers  retardation  from  this 
circumstance,  as  well  as  from  want  of  declivity  in  the 
current.  Hence  a  drain  which  is  disproportionally 
large  in  comparison  to  the  amount  of  drainage,  becomes 
an  inoperative  apparatus,  by  reason  of  its  undue  dimen- 
sions, while,  if  the  same  amount  of  drainage  is  concen- 
trated within  a  more  limited  channel,  a  greater  rapidity 
is  produced,  and  every  addition  to  the  contents  of  the 
drain  aids,  by  the  full  force  of  its  gravity,  in  propelling 
the  entire  quantity  forward  to  the  point  of  discharge." 
(This  latter  point  is  especially  little  understood). 

The  English  architect  Ernest  Turner,  well  known 
as  a  prominent  sanitarian,  speaks  about  size  of 
drain  pipes  as  follows  in  his  book,  "  Hints  to  House- 
hunters  and  Householders  " : 

"It  is  extraordinary  that  the  practice  of  making 
drains  as  large  as  possible  instead  of  as  small  as  may  be 
necessary  for  efficient  working  should  have  continued 
so  long  as  it  has.  The  only  possible  reason  must  be, 
'  every  drain  is  bound  to  choke  sooner  or  later,  and  the 
larger  the  pipe  the  longer  it  will  take  before  it  requires 
cleaning.' 

"The  smaller  the  pipe  the  less  the  friction — the  greater 
the  hydraulic  pressure  the  greater  the  velocity,  and  con- 


147 

sequently  the  less  chance  there  is  of  any  obstruction^ 
taking  place. 

"It  is  a  common  notion  that  an  ordinary  medium- 
sized  dwelling-house  requires  a  nine-inch  drain  ;  but  the 
idea  is  altogether  erroneous. 

"To  carry  off  a  small  quantity  of  water  quickly,  a 
small  pipe  must  be  used.  The  greater  the  proportion  of 
the  wetted  perimeter  to  the  volume  of  water  to  be  dis- 
charged, the  greater,  obviously,  the  resistance. 

"  If  a  pipe  becomes  choked,  it  is  generally  owing  to 
its  being  too  large — not  too  small — or  to  faulty  laying 
or  construction." 

Mr.  Eassie,  in  his  chapter  on  House  Drainage, 
written  for  the  recently  published  book,  "Our 
Homes,  and  How  to  Make  them.  Healthy,"  has  the 
following  : 

"  Drains  are  very  frequently  laid  down  of  far  too  large 
a  sectional  area  :  six  inches  in  diameter  where  four 
inches  would  have  sufficed,  nine  inches  where  six  inches 
would  have  been  sufficient,  and  twelve  inches  where 
nine  would  have  been  ample.  This  laying  down  of  too 
large  pipes  is  one  of  the  most  besetting  sins  in  house 
drainage,  when  that  has  been  left  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  builder.  I  have  taken  up  twelve-inch  pipes  in  a 
house,  and  replaced  them  with  six-inch  pipes.  The 
sizes  of  the  pipes  to  be  used  should  not  be  decided  hap- 
hazard, but  advice  taken  upon  this  subject  from  a  com- 
petent person.  As  a  general  rule,  a  four-inch  pipe  is 
sufficient  for  a  cottage,  and  a  six-inch  pipe  for  an  exten- 
sive dwelling.  In  deciding  the  diameter  of  the  drain 
pipes,  due  provision  must  be  made  for  the  rainfall,  or 
serious  floodings  may  be  the  result  after  every  storm  of 
unusual  severity." 

Other  defects  of  house  drains  relate  to  the  shape 
and  material  of  the  pipes.  Brick  drains  with  flat 
bottoms  are  an  abomination,  but  some  of  the  finest 


148 

residences  of  Fifth  avenue  remove  (or  rather  re- 
tain !)  the  household  wastes  through  such  square 
channels,  12*xl2*  in  cross  section.  Wooden  drains 
are  not  any  better.  Being  alternately  wet  and 
dry  they  quickly  rot  ;  the  roughness  of  the  inner 
surfaces  of  such  conduits  tends  to  create  deposits. 

Vitrified  pipes,  properly  shaped,  smoothly  glazed 
and  well-burnt,  are  preferable  to  all  other  kinds, 
even  to  cement  pipes.  They  should,  however,  be 
laid  with  care,  on  proper  foundations,  properly 
supported,  well  aligned,  properly  jointed  and  laid 
with  a  regular  fall.  Often  no  attempt  is  made  in 
tightening  the  joints  of  vitrified  pipe,  and  the  mis- 
taken notion  largely  prevails  that  through  such  open 
joints  subsoil  water  may  be  removed,  the  house 
drain  thus  performing  a  double  service,  for  which 
it  should  never  have  been  intended.  Conduits  for 
the  removal  of  the  foul  liquid  wastes  from  houses 
should  be  tight  beyond  doubt.  In  made  ground, 
where  drains  are  liable  to  settle  and  break,  earthen 
pipes  should  not  be  tolerated,  but  must  be  replaced 
by  iron  pipes,  and  this  is  true  as  well  for  drains 
^passing  near  a  well  or  cistern.  And  here  the  same 
remarks  heretofore  made  as  regards  the  quality  of 
iron  pipes  might,  with  advantage,  be  repeated. 
Radical  and  thorough  improvements  in  the  make 
of  iron  drain  pipes  are  much  to  be  desired. 

Another  serious  and  frequent  defect  relates  to 
the  junction  of  branches  to  the  main  drain,  T 
branches,  i.  e.,  right-angled  connection  pieces  being 
used,  which  cause  eddies  and  accumulations  of 
deposit.  The  same  error  of  construction  is  often 
made  at  the  point  where  a  house  drain  connects  to 


149 


a  street   sewer.     In  order   to   join  the   flow  from 
both  with  the  least  possible  retardation  of  the  cur- 

rent,  the  branch 
should  enter  the  drain 
under  an  angle  of  45° 
or  60°.  (See  Fig.  170.) 
I  must  not  forget  to 
mention  an  additional 
defect,  namely,  that  of 
delivering  a  large 
drain  pipe  into  one  of 
smaller  diameter,  a 
mistake  too  often 
l-  made  by  ignorant  or 

skin  builders. 
It  is  interesting,  though  somewhat  sad  to  learn 
that  the  defects  in  house  drainage  just  described  have 
not  by  any  means  been  recognized  only  lately;  for  as 
early  as  1 852  the  General  Board  of  Health  of  England 
discussed  the  question  of  house  drainage  in  an  able 
and  thorough  report,  arriving  at  exactly  the  same 
conclusions  and  principles  which  the  best  modern 
talent  advises,  I  give  below  a  few  extracts  from 
the  Report : 

"  The  materials  of  which  house  drains  are  commonly 
constructed  are  burnt  clay  bricks,  and  of  these  bricks 
for  the  great  majority  of  houses,  any  inferior  rubbish 
that  can  be  put  away,  is  used.  The  common  '  place 
brick  '  is  so  absorbent  and  permeable  that  each  brick  will 
usually  absorb  about  a  pint  of  water.  It  is  rough  and  ill- 
formed  on  the  surface,  so  as  to  impede  the  flow  of  the 
sewage.  The  bottoms  of  the  drains  of  houses  occupied 
by  the  poorer  classes  are  not  always  formed  of  whole 
bricks,  brick-bats  being  often  used  for  the  purpose, 


150 


which  are  frequently  put  together  dry,  or  the  mortar 
used  for  their  connection  is  inferior,  soluble  and  perme- 
able to  water  as  well  as  to  gases.  The  following  (Fig.  171) 
are  common  forms  of  permeable  brick  drains,  which  let 
out  offensive  liquid  to  spread  beneath  the  premises,  but 
detain,  like  sieves,  the  solids  or  less  soluble  matter  : 


FIG.  171.— House  drain  of  brick,  square  in  shape. 

In  many  of  the  large  provincial  towns  visited,  still 
inferior  drains  are  constructed.  The  following  (Figs. 
172  and  173)  are  two  specimens : 

The  former  will 
often  be  choked  up 
in  a  few  months, 
especially  if  some 

other  owner,  as  is 
FIG.  172.— House  drain  of  brick,  with-      _  *  +  _  _    +1,,,    ~  Q  a  ~ 
out  proper  invert.  case, 

drains  into  it.  The 
latter,  it  must  be 
obvious,  will  ulti- 
mately have  the 
same  fate,  notwith- 
standing the  sup- 
posed advantage  of 
its  large  size — 
should  it  not  sooner 


FIG.  173.— House  drain  of  rough  stone- 
work. 


collapse  and  become  a  confused  mass  of  rubble  stone, 
and  black,  stinking  filth." 

In  regard  to  extravagant  sizes  for  sewers  and 
drains,  the  report  says  : 


151 


"  It  is  important  that  the  result  of  inquiry  on  this  point 
should  be  understood, — namely,  why  a  small  channel  or 
drain,  properly  adjusted  to  the  run  of  water  to  be  dis- 
charged, will  be  kept  clear,  while  a  large  channel,  with 
the  same  quantity  of  water  to  be  discharged,  and  with 
the  same  fall  or  inclination,  will  accumulate  deposit. 

In  large  drains  a  given  run  of  water  is  spread  in  a  thin 
sheet,  which  is  shallow  in  proportion  as  the  bottom  of 
the  drain  is  wide,  hence  friction  is  increased,  the  rate  of 
flow  retarded,  and  according  to  a  natural  law,  matters 
at  first  held  in  suspension,  and  which  a  quicker  stream 
would  have  carried  forward,  are  deposited.  If  there  be 
any  elevated  substance,  the  shallow  and  slow  stream, 
having  less  velocity  and  power  of  floating  or  propelling 
a  solid  body,  passes  by  it.  Thus,  if  by  any  neglect  sub- 
stances not  intended  to  be  received  by  a  drain  enter  it, 
for  instance,  if  a  scrubbing-brush  or  hearth-stone  has 
been  allowed  to  get  into,  say  a  15-inch  drain,  the  height 
of  water  in  regard  to  such  substance  may  be  as  in  the 
following  sketch,  fig.  174 : 


Fio.  174— A  15-inch  house  drain,  with  a  shallow  stream  of  water. 

But  if  it  were  a  4-inch  drain,  the  same  quantity  of 
water  would  assume  a  very  different  relative  position,  as 


152 
in  this  smaller  sketch,   Fig.  175,  and  it  will  be  readily 


FIG.  175. — A  4-inch  house  drain,  with  same  amount  of  water 
running  through  it  as  passes  through  the  15-inch  pipe. 

understood  that  the  deeper  stream  of  the  contracted 
channel  would  be  more  powerful  to  remove  any  obstruct- 
ing body. 

Instead  of  concentrating  the  flow  of  small  streams, 
and  economizing  their  force,  the  common  practice  is  to 
spread  them  over  uneven  surfaces,  which  ' '  deadens " 
and  "kills"  them. 

In  a  small  drain  an  obstruction  raises  an  accumula- 
tion of  water  immediately,  which  increases,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  obstruction,  until  four,  five  or  six  times 
more  hydraulic  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  for  its  re- 
moval than  could  by  any  possibility  be  the  case  in  a  large 
•drain ;  for  in  a  large  drain  of  three  or  four  times  the 


FIG.  176.— Accumulation  of  deposit  in  a  house  drain, 
.same  internal  capacity,  the  water  can  only  be  dammed 
up  to  the  same  relative  height  by  an  accumulation  of 
matter  three  or  four  times  higher,  and  therefore  27  or 
64  times  greater,  which  will  gradually  lengthen  out,  as 
shown  in  sketch,  Fig.  176,  and  then  be  beyond  the  power 
of  removal  by  the  water." 

From  personal  notes  of  a  recent  inspection  of  the 
drainage  of  a  large  sea-side  hotel  on  the  Atlantic 
<joast  I  quote  the  following  : 


153 

•'The  ground  underneath  the  buildings  appears  to  be 
saturated  with  excremental  and  greasy  filth.  There  is 
an  extensive  network  of  terra  cotta  drain  pipes  under 
them,  a  few  of  these  being  main  lines,  into  which  a  large 
number  of  laterals  discharge.  Most  of  these  laterals  are 
six  inches  in  diameter  (sometimes  for  a  single  kitchen 
sink),  but  some  are  even  larger.  These  drains  are  laid 
in  the  most  wretched  manner,  without  regard  to  align- 
ment or  grade,  partly  on  the  surface,  partly  in  the 
ground,  a  few  being  only  half -covered.  Few,  if  any, 
joints  appeared  to  be  tight.  I  observed  the  rising  tide 
coming  out  of  some  joints  in  a  heavy  stream  ;  in  other 
joints  the  cement  had  crumbled  off,  or  had  been  washed 
out  or  was  removed  through  gnawing  of  rats.  Many 
drains  were  cracked  and  broken,  some  had  large  holes 
at  the  top,  which  allowed  sewer  air  to  pass  freely  up- 
wards into  the  buildings.  Laterals  joined  the  main 
sewer  pipe  by  T-branches.  I  could  not  detect  a  single 
Y-branch  ;  some  laterals  even  run  into  the  main  drain 
in  a  direction  against  the  current.  The  whole  drainage 
work  under  the  building  appeared  to  be  patch-work, 
done  from  time  to  time  as  occasion  required.  The  waste- 
pipes  from  fixtures  located  in  the  building  delivered 
directly  into  the  network  of  drains  just  described  ;  all 
kinds  of  materials  were  used  for  such  wastes  :  square 
wooden  pipes,  galvanized  iron  pipes,  tin,  lead,  cast  and 
wrought  iron  and  earthen  pipes.  A  bend  at  the  junc- 
tion of  a  vertical  and  a  horizontal  pipe  was  the  excep- 
tion ;  most  junctions  were  made  with  right-angled  el- 
bows. The  only  ruling  principle  for  the  drainage  of  the 
building  seemed  to  have  been  to  provide  drains  of  ample 
size.  At  times  of  high  tide  the  sewage  backs  up  in  the 
drains  and  floods  the  surface  under  the  building  oozing 
out  at  most  of  the  joints.  When  the  tide  recedes,  sew- 
age mud  is  left  on  the  ground  to  decompose.  Hence 
arose  the  frequent  complaint  of  offensive  smells  from 
the  drains." 

Conditions  such  as  are  described  in  these  notes 


154 


are  by  no  means  exceptional,  and  similar  defects- 
exist  in  most  houses  at  the  present  day.  Owing  to 
the  indifference  of  the  general  public  the  actual 
condition  of  the  drainage  of  a  house  is  something 
seldom  inquired  into,  except  when  sickness  has 
made  its  appearance,  or  continued  complaints  of 
ill-health  force  it  to  the  attention  of  the  house  oc- 


cupants. 


7 


FIG.  177.— Faulty  connection  between  drain  and  sewer. 
And  now  I  must  offer  a  few  closing  remarks 
about  the  usual  modes  of  disposing  of  liquid  house- 
hold wastes  and  human  excreta.  Comparatively 
few  cities  have  as  yet  constructed  a  complete  sewer- 
age system  with  sewers  in  all  principal  streets,  to 
which  the  house-drains  connect.  Many  cities,  how- 
ever, are  provided  with  a  partial  system  of  sewers, 
more  or  less  faulty  in  design  and  worse  in  con- 
struction. With  these  it  is  a  common  occurrence 
to  find  the  connection  between  house-drain  and 


155 

sewer  improperly  made  ;  the  following  sketches, 
Figs.  177, 178  and  I78a,  whichl borrow  partly  from 
Hoskins'  "  An  Hour  with  a  Sewer  Rat,"  partly 
from  Eliot  C.  Clarke's  "  Common  Defects  in  House- 
drains,"  illustrate  such  faulty  connections. 

Many  cities  remain,  up  to  this  time,  without  any 
system  of  sewerage  whatever,  and  in  smaller  towns 
and  villages  it  is  a  common,  though  much  to  be 
condemned,  practice,  to  store  the  sewage  of  the 
household  in  cesspools,  which  are  not  unusually 
located  close  to  the  house,  in  some  cases  even 


FIG.  178.— Faulty  connection  between  drain  and  sewer. 

underneath  the  dwelling.  In  most  cases  cesspools 
are  mere  pits,  dug  in  the  ground  and  walled  up 
with  loose  stones.  The  liquid  contents  are  left  to 
soak  away  into  the  subsoil,  while  all  solids  and* 
grease  from  the  kitchen  remain  in  the  cesspool  to 
decompose  and  generate  noxious  gases.  Should  the 
pores  of  the  soil  stop  up  and  the  liquid  cease  to 
leach  into  the  ground,  the  cesspool  is  abandoned, 
generally,  and  a  new  hole  dug,  close  to  the  first 
one.  In  other  instances  two  cesspools  are  built,  the 


156 

first  one,  supposed  to  be  tight,  to  retain  the  solid 
and  grease  from  the  household,  the  second  one  a 
leaching  cesspool,  connected  with  the  first  one  by 
an  overflow  pipe,  through  which  the  filthy  liquids 
run  to  be  disposed  of  by  soakage  into  the  ground. 
A  continuous  pollution  and  dangerous  saturation  of 
the  soil  about  human  habitations  is  thus  going  on,, 
while  the  air  which  we  breathe  is  tainted  by  the 
foul  emanations  commonly  knows  as  "  sewer  gas." 


FIG.  178A.— Faulty  connection  between  house  drain  and  street 
sewer. 

The  Report  of  the  General  Board  of  Health  of 
England  referred  to  above,  says  : 

"  House-drains,  constructed  as  described,  commonly 
convey  the  sewage  into  cesspools,  from  some  of  which 
the  overflow  is  carried  away  into  the  sewer;  but  of  ten- 
there  is  no  overflow  drain  and  the  liquid  percolates  into- 
the  soil  beneath  and  adjoining  the  building.  When  the 
cesspool  becomes  filled  with  the  solid  filth  detained,  it 
is  not  unusual,  instead  of  emptying  it,  to  form  another. 

Beneath  many  of  the  more  moderate-sized  houses  as 
many  as  three  cesspools  have  been  found;  their  ordi- 
nary state  is  displayed  in  the  following  sketch,  Fig.  179.'* 

Not  less  dangerous    than  the  accumulation   of" 


157 


putrid  organic  matter  is  the  pollution  of  the  under- 
ground water  by  the  filthy  liquid  soaking  into  the 
ground.  Chemical  analysis  of  the  water  of  wells, 
situated  in  proximity  to  cesspools,  or  receiving  the 
surface  drainage  from  stables,  cow-houses,  etc., 
most  always  reveals  organic  matter  in  the  water. 
Such  contamination  is  all  the  more  serious,  as  in 


Fio.  179.— House  drain  delivering  Into  a  filled  cesspool, 
towns  and  villages  or  isolated  country  houses,  peo- 
ple quite  often  must  depend  upon  the  well  for  the 
supply  of  drinking  water  to  men  and  animals. 

Another  much  to  be  detested  practice,  which 
might  almost  be  called  a  crime,  is  the  use  of  an 
abandoned  deep  well  for  a  cesspool.  And  this  is 
true  for  drains  discharging  water  closet  wastes  as 
well  as  those  discharging  slopwater  only.  Practi- 
cally, there  is  hardly  any  perceptible  difference 
between  either  kind  of  wastes  after  having  been 
retained  for  some  time  in  a  cesspool. 


158 


The  question  is  often  asked:  "  At  what  distance 
from  a  well  would  it  be  safe  to  put  a  leaching 
cesspool?  Sanitary  science  has  but  one  answer  to 
this  query  :  it  prohibits  the  use  of  leaching  cess- 
pools altogether. 

Prof.  Kedzie  of  Michigan  has  lately  illustrated 
the  question  of  soil  and  water  pollution  by  showing 
two  cones,  one  of  which  he  calls  the  cone  of  fil- 
tration, Fig.  180,  and  the  other  the  cone  of  pollu- 
tion^ Fig.  181.  The  first  cone  shows  the  distance 
and  the  area  drained  by  a  well.  It  is  clear  that 
the  radius  of  the  base  of  the  cone  must  depend  on 
the  depth  of  the  well,  and  on  the  character  of  the 
soil  through  which  the  well  is  sunk.  Again,  the 
area  of  soil  which  may  be  polluted  by  soakage 
from  a  cesspool  will  depend  on  the  soil,  and  on  the 
depth  of  the  cesspool. 


* 


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i  i 

•     '•/-' 
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Pi 

'"//  /  / 
/  /  /  / 


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f  / 


1 

FIG.  180.— Cone  of  filtration. 

Practically,  we  are  not  yet  able,  in  a  given  case, 
to  draw  exact  diagrams  of  both  cones;  if  we  could 
do  so,  the  question  of  pollution  of  a  well,  in  a 
given  instance,  by  soakage  from  cesspools,  could 


159 

easily  be  answered  without  the  aid  of  chemical 
analysis.  The  diagrams,  however,  are  admirably 
adapted  to  convey  to  the  general  public  an 
idea  of  the  danger  incurred  by  locating  wells 
and  cesspools  in  close  proximity.  Wherever  the 
two  cones  would  intersect  each  other,  there  a  pol- 
lution is  inevitable.  But,  even  where  they  do  not 
cross  each  other,  there  is  danger,  for  the  cone  of 
soakage  might  strike  a  water-bearing  stratum,  and 
liquid  impurities  may  thus  be  carried  to  great  dis- 
tances, polluting  springs  and  causing  zymotic  dis- 
ease. 


Pio.  181.— Cone  of  pollution. 

A  leaching  cesspool  is,  under  all  circumstances, 
an  abomination.  Less  dangerous  and  hardly  as  ob- 
jectionable is  the  accumulation  of  household  wastes 
in  a  tight  receptacle  or  cesspool ;  but  the  latter  should 
be  built  with  particular  care,  made  thoroughly  secure 
against  leakage,  located  as  far  away  as  possible 
from  the  dwelling,  and  efficiently  ventilated.  It 


160 

should  be  of  small  dimensions,  and  consists  better 
of  two  compartments,  the  first  of  which  retains  the 
solids  and  must  be  frequently  emptied,  cleaned 
and  disinfected ;  while  the  second  larger  compart- 
ment holds  the  liquids,  which  must  be  disposed  of 
on  the  ground,  on  the  lawn,  or  in  the  vegetable 
garden,  by  frequent  pumping  out. 

It  is  a  mistaken  notion,  frequently  met  with  in 
rural  or  suburban  districts,  where  water-closets  are 
not  used,  that  slop-water  from  bedrooms  and 
kitchens  cannot,  per  se,  become  a  dangerous  nuis- 
ance. Hence,  such  liquid  wastes  are  often  dis- 
posed of  by  running  them  in  open  street  gutters  to 
the  nearest  pond  or  brook;  they  are  also  frequently 
dumped  upon  the  ground  around  the  dwelling,  es- 
pecially near  kitchen  windows.  The  emanations 
from  a  farmer's  back  yard  on  a  hot  summer's  day  are 
generally  extremely  nauseating  and  unwholesome. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Another  not  less  dangerous 
nuisance  is  the  common  privy,  which  is  still  to  be 
found  in  many  cities,  and  is  the  rule  in  villages  and 
isolated  dwellings  having  no  general  water  supply. 

The  prevalent  form  of  privy  is  nothing  but  a 
large  hole  in  the  ground,  a  few  feet  deep,  over 
which  is  erected  the  simplest  kind  of  a  shed,  pro- 
vided with  a  rough  seat  with  hole.  Who  has  not, 
on  a  hot  summer's  day,  when  compelled  to  pass  near 
such  privy,  felt  the  offensive  and  truly  sickening  in- 
fluence of  the  vile  emanations  from  such  an  accu- 
mulated mass  of  excrement?  Indeed,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  we  hear  so  much  now-a-days  of  mal- 
aria and  fever  in  the  country. 

Furthermore,   I   wish   to   enter  earnest  protest 


161 

against  a  method  of  house-drainage  extensively 
practiced  in  many  cities  and  towns,  notably  in 
Philadelphia,  and  in  St.  Louis.  It  is  usual,  in  the 
case  of  smaller  houses,  to  have  inside  the  house,  in 
the  rear  extension,  only  a  kitchen  sink  on  the  first 
floor,  and  a  bath  or  bowl  on  the  second  floor.  In 
the  rear  of  the  yard  a  vault  is  built,  over  which  a 
privy  is  erected.  This  vault  is  provided  with  an 
overflow  or  connection  to  the  street  sewer.  Into 
it  runs  a  waste  pipe  from  the  kitchen  sink,  which 
also  receives  the  rain-water  from  the  whole  or  a 
part  of  the  roof.  The  excrement  which  accumu- 
lates in  the  privy  vault  is  supposed  to  be  washed 
out  into  the  sewer  with  the  flush  from  a  good  rain- 
fall, but  such  is  not  the  case — at  least  the  flushing 
out  is  not  a  thorough  one;  flushing  these  vaults 
from  a  yard  hydrant  by  means  of  a  hose  is  most 
always  neglected;  frequent  stoppages  between  the 
vault  and  the  sewer,  or  further  on  in  the  street 
sewer,  occur.  The  privy  vault  is  seldom  built 
thoroughly  tight,  consequently  there  is  danger  of 
soil  pollution;  and  even  where  it  is  tight  there  is 
always  a  poisoning  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  rear 
yard  with  vile  stenches.  Such  a  privy  vault  is  not 
much  better  than  a  common  privy,  and  should  not 
be  tolerated  by  the  authorities. 

An  English  sanitary  engineer  truly  said  : 

"  AD  open  privy  cesspool  is,  in  most  cases,  a  nuisance. 
The  addition  of  small  quantities  of  water  to  effete  or- 
ganic matter  causes  fermentation  and  the  liberation  of 
the  gases  of  decomposition,  and,  therefore,  all  such  matter 
should  either  be  washed  away  with  plenty  of  water,  or 
water  should  be  wholly  excluded  from  it.  Either  an  abund- 
ance of  water  or  none  at  all  is  alone  safe  in  this  case." 


162 

Wherever  cities  have  adopted  the  "water- 
carriage  "  system,  the  use  of  some  kind  of  water- 
closet  apparatus,  which  is  vastly  superior  in  point 
of  comfort,  decency  and  cleanliness,  should  be  made 
imperative. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  chapter  better  than  by 
quoting  the  admirable  words  of  Dr.  Simon  on 
forms  of  filth,  producing  disease  : 

"  There  are  houses,  there  are  groups  of  houses,  there 
are  whole  villages,  there  are  considerable  sections  of 
towns,  there  are  even  entire  and  not  small  towns,  where 
general  slovenliness  in  everything  which  relates  to  the 
removal  of  refuse  matter,  slovenliness  which  in  very 
many  cases  amounts  to  utter  bestiality  of  neglect,  is  the 
local  habit :  where,  within  or  just  outside  each  house, 
.or  in  spaces  common  to  many  houses,  lies  for  an  indefi- 
-nite  time,  undergoing  foetid  decomposition,  more  or  less 
of  the  putrefiable  refuse  which  house-life,  and  some 
sorts  of  trade-life,  produce :  excrement  of  man  and 
brute,  and  garbage  of  all  sorts,  and  ponded  slop-waters  : 
sometimes  lying  bare  on  the  common  surface  ;  some- 
times unintentionally  stored  out  of  sight  and  recollec- 
tion in  drains  or  sewers  which  cannot  carry  them 
away  ;  sometimes  held  in  receptacles  specially  provided 
to  favor  accumulation,  as  privy-pits  and  other  cesspools 
for  excrement  and  slop-water,  and  so-called  dust-bins, 
receiving  kitchen  refuse  and  other  filth.  And  with  this 
state  of  things,  be  it  on  large  or  on  small  scale,  two  chief 
sorts  of  danger  to  life  arise  :  one,  that  volatile  effluvia 
from  the  refuse  pollute  the  surrounding  air  and  every- 
thing which  it  contains  ;  the  other,  that  the  liquid  parts 
of  the  refuse  pass  by  soakage  or  leakage  into  the  sur- 
rounding soil,  to  mingle  there,  of  course,  in  whatever 
water  the  soil  yields,  and  in  certain  cases  thus  to  occa- 
sion the  deadliest  pollution  of  wells  and  springs.  To  a 
really  immense  extent,  to  an  extent  indeed  which  per- 
.sons  unpracticed  in  sanitary  inspection  could  scarcely 


163 

find  themselves  able  to  imagine,  dangers  of  these  two 
sorts  are  prevailing  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  this  country,  not  only  in  their  slighter  degrees,  but 
in  degrees  which  are  gross  and  scandalous,  and  very 
often,  I  repeat,  truly  bestial." 

.  .  .  .  "  While  it  cannot  be  denied  that  ill-devised 
and  ill-managed  water-closets  and  their  accompani- 
ments have  caused  filth-diseases  to  a  very  large  extent, 
.a  far  larger  range  of  mischief  has  attached  to  the  other 
kinds  of  privy-arrangements  :  and  of  all  the  filth-influ- 
ences which  prevail  against  human  life,  privies  of  the 
accumulative  sort  operate  undoubtedly  to  far  the  largest 
extent." 

"  The  intention,  and,  where  realized,  the  distinctive 
merit  of  a  system  of  water-closets  is,  that  in  removing 
excremental  matters  from  a  house  it  does  so  with  per- 
fect promptitude,  and  in  a  perfectly  neat  and  complete 
manner,  not  having  any  intervals  of  delay,  nor  leaving 
any  residue  of  filth,  nor  diffusing  any  during  its  opera- 
tion ;  and  where  the  water-system  is  not  in  use,  these 
objects  ought  still  as  far  as  possible  to  be  secured.  Thus, 
in  the  absence  of  water-closets,  evidently  any  reasonable 
alternative  system  ought  to  include  the  following  two 
factors,  brought  into  thoroughly  mutual  adjustment : 
first,  proper  catchment  apparatus  in  privies ;  and  sec- 
ondly, proper  arrangements  for  privy  scavenage." 

.  .  .  .  "  Now,  hitherto,  in  places  not  having 
water-closets,  the  general  practice  has  flagrantly  con- 
travened those  conditions.  Either  it  has  had  no  other 
catchment-apparatus  than  the  bare  earth  beneath  the 
privy-seat,  and  has  trusted  that  this  (receiving  the  ex- 
crements and  often  also  the  house-slops  on  to  its  natural 
surface  or  into  a  hole  dug  into  it)  would  absorb  and 
drain  away  the  fluid  filth,  and  serve  during  months  and 
years  as  heaping-place  for  the  remainder  ;  or  else  it  has 
had,  as  supplement  to  the  privy,  a  large  inclosed  mid- 
denstead  or  cesspool,  partly  or  entirely  of  brickwork  or 
masonry,  intended  to  retain  large  accumulations  of  at 
least  the  solid  filth,  with  or  without  the  ashes  and  other 


164 

<dry  refuse  of  the  house,  and  in  general  dividing  its  fluid 
between  an  escape-channel,  specially  provided,  and 
such  soakage  and  leakage  in  other  directions  as  the  con- 
struction has  undesignedly  or  designedly  almost  always 
permitted.  Privies,  such  as  these,  have  not  been  meant 
to  have  their  filth  removed  except  when  its  mere  large- 
ness of  bulk  (exceeding  or  threatening  to  exceed  the 
limits  of  the  privy-pit  or  cesspool  or  midden)  might 
mechanically  make  removal  necessary,  or  else  when 
there  might  happen  to  arise  an  agricultural  opportunity 
for  the  stuff ;  and  public  scavengering  in  relation  to 
such  privies  has  either  had  no  existence,  or  has  been 
adapted  to  the  supposition  of  an  indefinite  local  toler- 
ance of  accumulation.  All  this  accumulation,  with  its 
attendant  exhalation  and  soakage,  and  at  intervals  the 
shoveling  and  carting  away  of  its  masses  of  foetid  refuse, 
And  the  exposure  of  the  filth-sodden  catchment  surfaces 
of  privy-pits  and  middens,  has  been,  as  needs  hardly  be 
said,  an  extreme  nuisance  to  those  in  whose  vicinity  it 
has  been  ;  and  sometimes  with  the  aggravating  condi- 
tion that,  because  of  the  situation  of  the  privy,  each 
filth-removal  must  be  through  the  inhabited  house. 
What  nuisance  this  system  at  present  constitutes  in  in- 
numerable populous  places,  including  some  of  our  larg- 
est towns,  can  indeed  hardly  be  conceived  by  persons 
who  do  not  know  it  in  operation  ;  and  the  infective 
pollutions  of  air  and  water-supply,  which  it  occasions 
to  an  immense  extent  in  towns  and  villages  throughout 
the  country,  are  chief  means  of  spreading  in  such  places 
some  of  the  most  fatal  of  filth-diseases." 


We  have  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  com- 
mon defects  in  the  drainage  and  sewerage  of 
buildings.  The  closing  chapters  of  our  volume  will 
be  devoted  to  a  brief  description  of  what  may  be 
called  the  chief  features  of  a  well-devised  and  well- 
constructed  system  of  house  drainage. 


165 

We  will  arrange  our  subject  under  the  following 
headings,  viz.: 

DRAINAGE  OF  DWELLINGS; 

INTERNAL  SEWERAGE  OF  DWELLINGS; 

DESCRIPTION  OF  PLUMBING  FIXTURES; 

GENERAL  ARRANGEMENT  AND  CARE  OF  FIX- 
TURES; 

EXTERNAL  SEWERAGE; 

DISPOSAL  OF  HOUSEHOLD  WASTES.* 

•"The  subject  is  treated  at  greater  length  and  somewhat  more 
in  detail  in  the  author's  book,  "House  Drainage  and  Sanitary 
Plumbing,"  published  by  D.  Van  Nostrand,  N.  Y.  (Second 
revised  edition  in  press). 


CHAPTER  X. 

SYSTEM   OF   INTERNAL  SEWERAGE  AS   IT  SHOULD   BE 
IN   A   DWELLING. 

Drainage  of  Dwellings. 

'"PHE  term  "  drainage  "  in  distinction  to  "  sew- 
L  erage  "  is  intended  to  apply  to  the  removal 
of  sub-soil  water  from  the  site  upon  which  the  dwell- 
ing is  to  be  erected.  No  house  can  be  considered  per- 
fectly healthy  unless  provision  has  been  made  for 
carrying  away  any  excess  of  moisture  from  the 
soil.  Damp  and  wet  cellars  have  a  well-known 
influence  in  predisposing  people  living  in  such 
houses  to  pulmonary  diseases. 

To  carry  off  sub-soil  water,  tile  drains  (common 
round  land  drains)  should  be  laid  at  a  depth  well 
below  the  cellar  floor,  in  parallel  lines,  their  dis- 
tance depending  largely  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil.  The  tiles  may  be  l£  or  2  inches  in  diameter, 
and  should  be  laid  with  open  joints,  well  wrapped 
with  tarred  paper  or  strips  of  cotton  rags,  to  pre- 
vent dirt  from  falling  in  at  the  joints.  Such  branch 
drains  should  all  be  collected  into  one  main  cellar 
drain,  of  2  inches  diameter  or  of  larger  size,  where 
the  amount  of  water  to  be  removed  should  be  ex- 
cessive, on  account  of  springs,  or  for  other  reasons. 
If  the  house  is  a  country  house,  this  cellar  drain 
can  generally  be  continued  to  some  low  point,  a 
ditch,  ravine  or  a  water-course,  into  which  it  should 


167 

deliver.  The  outlet  should  be  built  in  stone,  or 
masonry,  well  protected  by  a  strong  grating,  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  rats  or  vermin.  Where 
the  water-course  is  subject  to  back-flooding  from 
sudden  rains,  or  some  other  cause,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  apply  to  the  outlet  drain  a  tidal  flap  or  ball 
valve.  (See  Figs.  40  and  87). 

If  the  house  stands  on  a  city  lot,  the  only  outlet 
generally  available  is  a  sewer  in  the  street.  To 
connect  such  cellar  drain  directly  to  a  sewer  or  to 
a  house  drain  leading  to  it  would  be  to  lay  sewer 
gas  on  to  the  house.  There  should  be  a  thorough 
disconnection  between  a  sub-soil  drain  and  a  sewer, 
which  can  be  effected  by  a  trap  with  a  very  deep 
seal,  not  liable  to  be  affected  by  evaporation  in 


FIG.  182.— Sub-soil  Drainage  for  City  Dwellings. 

hot,  dry  weather  (Fig.  182),  or  by  a  gravel  trap 
with  an  overflow  to  the  sewer. 

To  ensure  a  dry  and  healthy  cellar,  it  is  neces- 
sary, in  addition  to  the  cellar  drainage,  to  concrete 
the  cellar  floor,  and  to  render  it  impervious  to- 


168 

water  by  a  good  rendering  of  Portland  cement,  or 
better  still,  by  a  thin  layer  of  asphaltum,  spread 
on  top  of  the  concrete. 

Dampness  of  ioundation  walls  is  equally  bad  and 
dangerous  to  health,  and  can  be  most  efficiently 
prevented  by  asphalting  the  outer  face  of  founda- 
tion walls  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  by  the 
use  of  double  walls  with  air-space  between,  or 
better  still,  by  an  area  built  all  around  the  founda- 
tion walls,  well  drained  and  well  ventilated. 

As  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  give 
general  advice  upon  the  construction  of  healthy 
houses — our  subject  being  restricted  to  the  drain- 
age and  sewerage  of  dwellings — we  cannot  enter 
more  fully  into  a  discussion  of  the  important 
problem  of  how  to  prevent  dampness  in  walls. 
The  above  hints,  however,  when  followed,  cannot 
fail  to  secure  improvements  in  this  direction. 

Internal  Sewerage  of  Dwellings. 

All  drain,  soil,  waste  and  air  pipes  inside  of  a 
dwelling  (except  the  short  branch  wastes  from  fix- 
tures) should  be  of  iron. 

The  arrangement  of  soil  and  waste  pipes  must 
be  as  direct  as  possible,  and  long  branch  wastes 
under  floors  should  be  avoided  everywhere. 

Each  stack  should  run  up  as  straight  as  possible, 
avoiding  offsets,  which  are  objectionable. 

None  of  the  waste  or  vent  pipes  should  be 
buried  out  of  sight  and  rendered  absolutely  inac- 
cessible. It  is  preferable  to  keep  them  in  sight, 
except  on  the  parlor  floor.  The  public  has  long 
been  accustomed  and  does  not  object  to  the  run- 


169 

ning  of  steam  pipes  in  plain  sight,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  soil  pipes  should  not  be  treated  in  the 
same  manner.  Their  outside  can  he  painted,  or, 
if  desired,  it  can  be  gilt  or  bronzed,  as  is  done  with 
steam  pipes.  Where  pipes  must  be  placed  in  re- 
cesses or  chaces  in  the  walls,  or  in  partitions,  they 
should  be  covered  with  wooden  panels,  or  boards, 
fastened  with  screws  so  as  to  be  easily  removed, 
should  an  inspection  of  the  plumbing  become 
necessary. 

The  soil,  waste  and  air  pipe  system  should  be 
thoroughly  tight,  not  only  water-tight,  but  air- 
tight as  well.  Hence,  the  pipes  must  be  of  thor- 
oughly sound  material,  and  all  joints  must  be  per- 
fectly made. 

The  system  must  be  amply  ventilated,  and  should 
have  no  "dead  ends."  Each  soil  pipe,  therefore, 
must  extend  at  least  full  size  from  the  cellar  to  and 
through  the  roof ;  waste  pipes  must  also  be  ex- 
tended, but  should  be  enlarged  just  below  the  roof 
to  4  inches  in  diameter,  to  prevent  obstructions  of 
the  pipe  in  winter  through  hoar  frost. 

Wherever  practicable,  soil  and  -waste  pipes 
should  run  along  a  heated  flue,  as  this  will  assist 
in  creating  an  upward  draft  in  the  ventilating 
pipes. 

The  extensions  above  the  roof  should,  in  all 
cases,  be  not  less  than  two  feet  high,  so  ?s  to  be 
well  exposed  to  air  currents  ;  if  near  a  chimney 
top,  they  must  terminate  well  below  it.  In  any 
case,  soil  pipe  mouths  should  be  located  as  remote 
as  possible  from  ventilating  shafts,  chimney  flues, 
or  ventilating  skylights. 


170 

The  mouths  of  all  pipes  above  the  roof  should 
be  kept  wide  open.  Return-bends  are  highly  ob- 
jectionable ;  ventilating  caps  clog  up  in  winter 
time  through  hoar  frost.  None  of  the  many 
patent  ventilators  are  preferable  to  an  open- 
mouthed  pipe.*  To  prevent  obstructions  of  the 
pipe,  insert  into  the  top  a  copper  mushroom-shaped 
wire  basket  (commonly  called  leader  guard). 

Soil  pipes  should  not  be  larger  than  four  inches 
in  diameter;  vertical  waste  pipes  for  sinks  or 
bowls,  are  generally  two  inches  in  diameter. 

Each  vertical  line  of  air  pipes  must  be  at  least  two 
inches  in  diameter,  increasing  at  the  upper  floors 
(in  the  case  of  high  buildings)  to  three  and  even 
four  inches  diameter.  Each  line  of  air  pipe  should 
extend  as  straight  as  possible  up  through  the  roof, 
where  its  mouth  should  be  well  exposed  to  the 
wind,  and  provided  with  a  grating,  screen  or  bas- 
ket for  protection.  Air  pipes  may,  however,  branch 
into  their  soil  pipe  above  the  highest  fixture,  thus 
avoiding  a  large  number  of  holes  on  the  roof. 
Each  vertical  line  of  air  pipe  must  have  the  neces- 
sary fittings  to  connect  the  branch  air  pipes  from 
traps  to  it.  It  is  a  mistake,  frequently  made,  to 
use  inferior  material  (lighter  pipes)  for  such  air 
pipes.  They  must,  invariably,  carry  more  or  less 
foul  gases,  their  joints  should,  therefore,  be  as 
tight  as  those  of  soil  and  waste  pipes. 

Leader  pipes,  if  inside  the  walls,  must  be  of  cast 


*  Ventilators  or  exhaust  cowls  render,  in  some  cases,  excellent 
service,  if  placed  on  top  of  flues,  to  prevent  smoky  chimneys. 
No  good  reason  exists  for  putting  them  on  top  of  soil  or  air 
pipes. 


171 

iron  or  wrought  iron,  with  thoroughly  tight  joints. 
If  the  leader  opens  at  the  top  near  attic  windows, 
or  near  chimney  flues  or  ventilating  shafts,  and 
if  it  is  made  of  metal  (galvanized  iron  or  tin) 
and  passes  near  windows  of  living  or  sleeping 
rooms,  it  must  be  trapped  by  a  trap,  with  deep 
seal,  located  out  of  reach  of  the  frost.  Iron 
leaders  with  tight  joints  opening  at  the  top  remote 
from  flues,  or  ventilators,  or  windows,  should  not 
be  trapped. 

Each  stack  of  soil  or  waste  pipe  must  have  fit- 
tings in  proper  position  to  receive  the  flow  from 
the  fixtures.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that 
the  fittings  on  vertical  soil  pipes  should  be  Y 
branches  ;  a  Tee-branch,  especially,  if  its  flow  line 
is  shaped  in  a  curve,  will  answer  the  purpose  as 
well,  and  such  is  especially  the  case  for  small 
waste  pipes  joining  the  soil  pipe. 

The  flow  from  all  soil  and  waste  pipes  is  collected 
in  the  cellar,  the  aim  always  being  to  concentrate 
the  system  as  much  as  possible.  As  a  rule,  it  is 
better  to  connect  the  rain  water  leaders  with  the 
drain  that  carries  the  waste  water  of  the  house- 
hold. In  country  residences,  where  the  rainfall  is 
collected  in  a  cistern,  a  separate  system  of  pipes  is 
required,  and  this  is  also  the  case,  wherever  the  sew- 
erage system  of  the  city  is  the  so-called  "  separate 
system." 

The  junction  between  upright  soil,  waste  or 
leader  pipes,  and  the  horizontal  drain,  is  of  the 
greatest  importance.  The  best  support  that  could 
be  given  to  it,  is  to  build  a  brick  pier  under  it,  and 
to  rest  the  weight  of  the  upright  pipe  stack  on  it. 


172 

Sometimes  a  strong  wooden  post  is  of  service, 
though  not  making  as  substantial  a  job  as  a  brick 
pier.  The  junction  should  be  made  with  an  elbow 
fitting  of  a  large  radius,  or  with  Y-branches  and 
45°  bends,  in  order  to  make  the  change  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  flow  as  gradual  as  possible.  A  right 
angled  connection  must  not  be  tolerated,  as  it  is 
sure  to  cause  accumulation  of  soil  and  create  stop- 
pages. 

It  is  to  be  recommended  to  run  the  main  cellar 
drain  in  sight  along  one  of  the  foundation  walls,  or  to 
carry  it  along  the  cellar  ceiling  suspended  from  the 
joists  or  iron  beams  by  strong  iron  hangers. 

Where  there  are  fixtures  in  the  cellar,  the  main; 
drain  must  run  below  the  floor,  and  in  this  case  it 
is  advisable  not  to  bury  it  entirely  out  of  sight. 
Cleaning  hand-holes  should  be  provided  at  all  junc- 
tions of  branch  drains  with  the  main,  also  near  or 
at  bends,  at  the  trap,  and  at  the  foot  of  vertical 
stacks.  These  hand-holes  must  be  left  accessible 
by  building  small  man-holes  with  covers  around, 
them.  Many  authorities  require  every  drain  below 
the  cellar  floor  to  be  laid  in  a  trench  with  concrete 
bottom  and  with  bricked  walls,  accessible  through- 
out its  entire  length.  This  seems  necessary  only 
where  inferior  material  is  used,  and  where  the 
workmanship  is  not  first-class.  With  heavy  iron 
pipes,  tested  not  only  at  the  foundry,  but  also  after 
being  placed  under  the  floor  of  a  house  (by  the. 
water  or  air  pressure  test),  and  with  few  well-made 
joints  it  is  better  to  bury  the  drain  pipes  in  con- 
crete, leaving  out  places  for  access  only  where- 
ever  really  needed. 


173 

For  all  horizontal  or  inclined  drains  the  rule 
should  be  laid  down,  that  no  junction  should  be 
made  at  right  angles,  with  Tees  ;  45°  Y  or  6H° 
Y-branches  must  be  used.  All  changes  from  the 
straight  line  must  be  made  with  curves  of  a  large 
radius.  It  is  advisable  to  use  near  junctions,  curves 
and  traps,  hand-holes  giving  ready  access  to  the 
drain  pipes  in  case  of  accidental  or  malicious  stop- 
page. 

The  fall  required  for  the  main  drain  will  depend 
upon  its  size  ;  the  latter  should  not  exceed  six 
inches  in  most  cases.  Where  a  building  is  unusu- 
ally large,  it  is  better  to  have  two  main  drains, 
each  six  inches  diameter,  than  one  drain  of  nine 
inches.  As  a  rule,  however,  four  and  five-inch 
drains  are  ample  for  ordinary  sizes  of  dwellings. 
Such  a  drain  should,  if  possible,  have  a  fall  of  £ 
inch  to  the  foot,  but  a  fall  of  J  inch  to  the  foot  is 
sufficient  to  carry  along  whatever  ought  only  to 
enter  such  pipes. 

If  the  main  drain  is  trapped,  as  is  advisable  in 
most  cases,*  the  running  trap  of  iron  should  be 
located  just  inside  the  cellar  wall  or  else  outside 
the  house,  in  a  man-hole.  It  should  be  located 
where  it  is  not  exposed  to  freezing. 

In  any  case  the  trap  must  not  be  absolutely  in- 
accessible, as  it  is  possible  that  obstructions  may 
occur  at  this  point.  The  trap  should,  therefore,, 
be  provided  with  cleaning  holes,  closed  .air-tight 
with  well  fitting  covers.  It  is  advisable  to  run  into- 
this  trap  a  leader,  so  as  to  insure  its  occasional 
flushing  at  each  rain-fall. 
*See  ClAp.  IV.,  page  56. 


174 

To  insure  a  full  circulation  of  fresh  air  through 
the  pipes,  a  fresh  air  pipe,  of  the  full  diameter  of 
the  iron  drain,  must  run  from  just  inside  the  trap 
to  some  point  outside,  well  remote  from  windows, 
so  as  not  to  cause  any  objectionable  smell,  as  it  be- 
comes at  times — though  seldom — an  outlet  instead 
of  an  inlet. 

As  soon  as  the  main  soil  and  drain  pipe  system 
is  completed,  its  tightness  should  be  tested  by  the 
water  pressure  test  (see  Fig.  22)  or  by  the  pepper- 
mint test. 

Another  equally  reliable  test  is  the  air  pressure 
test  by  a  force  pump  and  a  manometer.  In  this 
test  every  part  of  the  pipe  system  is  subject  to  a 
uniform  pressure,  while  in  the  water  test  the  pres- 
sure increases  with  every  foot  of  head  of  water, 
thereby  often  putting  an  unusually  severe  strain  on 
the  lower  part  of  the  pipe  system. 

The  house  drain  should  be  of  iron,  to  a  point 
well  beyond  the  foundation  walls.  Whether  it 
should  be  continued  any  further  with  iron  pipe,  or 
whether  vitrified,  well-glazed  pipes  may  be  used 
for  the  external  sewerage,  will  depend  entirely 
upon  the  character  of  the  soil.  For  made  ground, 
heavy  iron  pipe  is  decidedly  to  be  preferred,  but 
care  must  be  taken  to  lay  the  pipes  on  a  good  solid 
foundation.  It  is  also  safer  to  run  a  drain  of  iron 
pipes,  where  it  passes  near  a  well,  furnishing  drink- 
ing water.  Occasionally  roots  of  trees  cause  con- 
siderable trouble  with'  vitrified  pipe,  especially  if 
the  joints  of  the  latter  are  poorly  cemented.  In 
such  a  case,  iron  pipes,  with  caulked  joints,  are  pre- 
ferable. 


175 


Fig.  183  represents  a  section  througn  a  country 
dwelling,  showing  all  drain,  soil,  waste  and  air 
pipes ;  also  the  fixtures  and  the  mode  of  trapping 
these. 


Fio.  183.— Soil,  Waste  and  Air  Pipe  System  in  a  Country  Dwelling. 

We  will  consider  the  external  sewerage  further 
on,  and  must  now  refer  once  more  to  the  inside 
system  of  drain,  soil,  waste  and  air  pipes,  to  dis- 
cuss the  materials  best  adapted  to  such  a  system. 

For  all  drains  laid  underground  or  below  the 
cellar  floor,  the  best  available  material  is  cast-iron. 
In  Chapter  III.  we  have  discussed  the  faults  of 
common  plumbers'  pipe.  The  cast-iron  pipe,  fit 


176 

for  purposes  or  nouse  drainage,  must  be  equivalent 
in  strength  and  weight  to  heavy  gaspipe  in  order, 
first,  to  secure  a  rigid  and  strong  line  of  pipe,  and, 
second,  to  obtain  air  and  water-tight  joints. 

To  quote  from  Capt.  Douglas  Galton,  an  expe- 
rienced engineer  : 

"The  use  of  cast-iron  for  house  drains,  if  the  cast- 
iron  is  solid,  sound  and  free  from  porosity,  will  prevent 
leakage  and  sub-soil  tainting  beneath  the  house,  and 
will  be  as  cheap  as  earthenware  pipes  in  many  cases." 

"  Lead  joints  can  only  be  made  in  a  strong  iron 

pipe,  and  the  use  of  these  joints  is,  to  some  extent,  a 
guarantee  of  soundness,  but  every  pipe  should  be  care- 
fully tested  by  water  pressure,  to  see  that  there  are  no 
holes  or  flues." 

Pipes  of  heavy  cast-iron  are  generally  manufac- 
tured in  lengths  of  12  feet,  with  a  hub  and  a 
spigot  end.  As  regards  the  strength  of  such  pipes 
much  will  depend  upon  their  manufacture.  The 
metal  used  should  be  a  re-melted  pig-iron  of  homo- 
geneous texture,  free  and  easy  flowing  when  poured 
into  the  mould  ;  the  fracture  must  show  a  dark 
gray  color.  Then  again,  great  care  and  diligence 
must  be  bestowed  upon  the  making  and  drying  of 
the  pipe  moulds  and  cores  ;  the  loam  and  sand 
should  be  carefully  chosen,  in  order  to  form  smooth 
and  substantial  moulds. 

It  is  now  pretty  well  understood  by  all  manufac- 
turers of  first-class  cast-iron  pipe  that  the  pipes 
should  be  cast  over  end,  in  order  to  obtain  a  uni- 
form thickness  of  shell,  which  is  the  great  desid- 
eratum for  all  pipes.  If  cast  in  a  lying  or  inclined 
position,  the  molten  metal  poured  into  the  mould 
has  a  tendency  to  float  the  core  and  bend  it  up- 


177 

wards  in  the  centre,  consequently  the  thickness  of 
the  shell  will  be  much  greater  at  the  lower  part  of 
the  pipe. 

Experts  disagree  in  regard  to  the  position  of  the 
socket  while  casting.  In  England,  it  is  customary 
to  cast  heavy  pipes  with  the  socket  downward.  In 
such  a  position,  it  is  claimed,  the  head  of  pressure 
of  the  fluid  metal,  equivalent  to  the  length  of  pipe, 
will  secure  a  strong  socket,  free  from  air  bubbles 
or  other  defects.  The  top  end  will  often  be  spongy, 
containing  floating  dirt,  slag,  scoriae  and  air  bub- 
bles. Should  this  occur  with  the  socket  or  bell 
end  of  the  pipe,  it  would  render  the  socket  weak 
and  often  worthless  for  caulking  purposes,  while 
the  spigot  end  may  be  cut  off,  if  necessary.  A 
large  dead  bead  is  often  given  to  the  spigot  end  of 
pipe,  which  is  afterwards  removed  by  cutting.  In 
Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  the  custom  prevails  of 
casting  pipes  socket  upward.  In  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  general  practice  is  to  cast  all  pipes 
from  3"  to  12"  diameter,  socket  upward,  while  larger 
sizes  are  always  cast  socket  downward.  There 
are,  I  believe,  practical  advantages,  such  as  easier 
drawing  and  removing  of  patterns,  which  influence 
the  American  foundries  to  cast  with  socket  upward. 

After  being  cast,  all  pipes  should  be  carefully 
protected  from  sudden  chills,  the  cooling  should  be 
gradual  and  slow,  so  as  to  avoid  imperfections  in 
the  metal.  After  cooling  off,  the  pipes  are  care- 
fully cleaned  with  steel  wire  brushes  and  scrupu- 
lously inspected. 

All  such  pipes  should  be  straight,  truly  cylindri- 
cal, of  a  uniform  thickness,  of  a  uniform  and  ho- 


irs 

mogeneous  texture,  of  perfect  smooth  surface,  free 
from  flaws  or  other  imperfections,  and  the  spigot 
end  should  truly  fit  the  hub  of  the  pipe.  The 
pipe  must  not  be  brittle,  ^but  must  allow  of  ready 
cutting,  chipping,  drilling  or  threading. 

The  thickness  of  metal  of  cast-iron  pipes,  used 
for  sewerage  purposes,  should  be  about  as  follows : 

2  inch  pipes A  inches  thick. 

3  "  "  TJfc  "  " 

^       ((  «  3  «  « 

5  "        "     A       " 

6  "      "    A°ri" 

After  a  careful  and  thorough  inspection,  each 
pipe  must  be  tested  under  pressure  in  a  hydraulic 
testing  machine.  Whilst  under  such  pressure,  the 
whole  length  of  the  pipe  should  be  repeatedly 
struck  hard  with  a  heavy  hammer,  in  order  to  de- 
tect flaws  or  weak  parts  of  the  pipe  shell.  If  the 
sound  of  the  hammer  striking  the  pipe  metal  is 
clear  or  bell -like,  it  is  a  pretty  sure  indication  of 
the  absence  of  any  of  the  above  imperfections. 

If  it  is  thus  made  sure  that  the  pipe  is  free  from 
air-bubbles,  flaws,  shrinkage-cracks,  sand-holes, 
etc.,  the  pipe  must  be  coated  in  order  to  protect  it 
against  corrosion.  The  best'  solution  known  for 
cast-iron  pipe  is  Dr.  Angus  Smith's  patent  coal-tar 
varnish.  After  placing  the  pipes  in  an  oven,  they 
are  heated  so  as  to  well  open  the  pores,  and  the 
solution  is  likewise  kept  hot  in  a  tank,  care  being 
taken  that  it  does  not  get  too  great  a  consistency. 
The  pipes  are  then  immersed  in  a  bath  for  about 
15  to  20  minutes,  then  removed,  when  the  surplus  of 


179 

varnish  is  allowed  to  drip  off  from  the  pipe.  There* 
should  be  only  a  thin  smooth  coating  of  varnish 
over  the  pipe.  The  pipes  are  now  ready  for  use. 

A  word  of  caution  seems  appropriate  in  regard 
to  failures  of  cast-iron  pipes  through  rough  hand- 
ling during  carting,  or  loading  and  unloading. 
Great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  throw  any  pipes 
violently  on  the  ground,  nor  to  expose  unloaded 
pipes  to  violent  accidental  blows.  Owing  to  the 
brittleness  of  the  material,  cast-iron  pipes  often 
split  or  break  off  at  the  ends,  and  the  split,  al- 
though hardly  perceptible  on  the  outside,  may  con- 
tinue longitudinally  very  far,  which  fact  can  only 
be  detected  by  the  pressure  test. 

In  laying  such  cast-iron  pipes,  the  spigot  end  of 
one  pipe  must  be  inserted  as  straight  as  possible 
and  concentric  into  the  hub  end  of  the  next  pipe, 
care  being  taken  before  doing  so  that  the  pipe  is 
clean  and  free  of  all  dirt  on  its  inside.  A  gasket 
of  oakum  or  dry  hemp  is  then  inserted  into  the 
space  between  socket  and  spigot,  and  well  rammed 
with  a  caulking  tool.  This  gasket  should  fill 
about  one-half  of  the  depth  of  the  hub,  its 
object  being  to  prevent  any  molten  lead  from 
flowing  into  the  pipe  at  the  joint,  also  to  assist  in 
tightening  the  joint. 

A  roll  of  good,  tough  clay  is  placed  around  and 
pressed  against  the  front  of  the  pipe  bell  with  an 
opening  on  the  top,  where  the  two  ends  of  the  clay 
roll  meet,  large  enough  to  admit  of  pouring  in  the 
lead.  This  clay  rin^  prevents  the  escape  of  molten 
lead  while  running  the  joint. 

The  lead  used  for  making  mpe- joints  should  be 


180 


soft  and  pure,  without  any  admixture  of  tin,  zinc 
or  other  metal  If  hard  or  impure  lead  is  used,  the 
caulking  operation  strains  the  bells  often  so  much 
as  to  burst  or  split  them.  The  lead  is  melted  in  a 
large  pot  kept  on  a  furnace.  It  should  be  kept  at 
a  proper  temperature  in  order  to  prevent  too  sudden 
cooling  while  pouring  it.  A  large  ladle  (Fig.  184), 


FIG.  184.— Ladle. 

which  must  be  capable  of  holding  enough  molten 
lead  for  one  joint,  is  used  to  pour  the  lead  into  the 
space  between  spigot  and  bell.  It  is  important 
that  enough  molten  lead  is  poured  in  at  one  opera- 
tion to  quite  fill  the  joint,  for  if  the  lead  is  not 
poured  in  a  continuous  stream  the  joint  will  not  be 
perfect  and  homogeneous. 


I 


I 


FIG.  185.— Caulking  Tools. 


As  soon  as  the  socket  is  quite  filled,  the  ring  of 
clay  is  then  removed  and  the  lead  allowed  to  cool, 
while  the  superfluous  lead  is  cut  off  with  a  cold 
chisel.  The  lead  naturally  shrinks  and  would  not, 


181 


per  se,  make  a  tight  joint,  but  requires  a  thorough 
setting  up  or  caulking,  which  is  done  first  with  ? 
hammer  and  flat  caulking  tool,  next  with  a  similai. 
broader  tool,  with  a  slight  curve  corresponding  to 
the  size  or  radius  of  the  pipe.  Fig.  185  shows  the 
caulking  tools  generally  used. 


FIG.  186.— Finished  Caulked  Joint. 

Fig.  186  shows  the  caulked  joint  in  section, 
when  finished.  To  insure  a  perfect  joint  the  ring 
of  lead  should  have  an  equal  thickness  all  around. 
This  thickness  varies  from  J  to  f  inch  ;  the  ring 
should  have  a  depth  of  from  1^  to  2  inches.  The 
following  table,  showing  the  amount  of  lead  re- 
quired for  a  joint,  may  serve  as  a  guide: 


DIAMETER 
OF  PIPE. 

WEIGHT  OF  LEAD 

IN    HIS. 

DEPTHS  OF  LEAD 
IN  INCHES. 

2 

2 

|J 

3 

23 

14 

4 

4 

if 

5 

H 

ii 

6 

7 

2 

182 

The  lead  must  be  left  exposed,  so  as  to  show  the 
marks  of  the  caulking  tools.  No  paint,  cement  or 
putty  should  be  used  to  fill  the  space  in  front  of 
the  caulking  ring. 

A  proper  caulking  operation  always  puts  a 
heavy  strain  on  the  sockets  of  the  cast-iron  pipe, 
and,  in  order  to  withstand  it  and  prevent  the 
bursting  of  bells,  the  latter  should  be  designed 
very  strong,  with  an  extra  thickness  of  metal  at 
the  end  of  the  hub  and  at  the  point  where  the 
socket  joins  the  pipe.  The  thickness  of  the  hub 
should  not  be  in  direct  proportion  to  the  thickness 
of  the  pipe.  This  latter  point  is  less  thoroughly 
understood.  The  failure  of  common  light  plum- 
bers' pipe  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  both  the 
pipe  shell  and  the  thickness  of  the  bell  are  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  While  it  may  be  possible  to  re- 
duce the  former  slightly,  wherever  there  is  no  heavy 
inside  pressure  or  outside  superincumbent  weight, 
the  latter  should  always  be  kept  heavy  enough  to 
withstand  a  thorough  caulking. 

In  making  lead  joints  in  cast-iron  pipes,  much, 
of  course,  depends  upon  the  skill,  sound  judgment, 
experience,  but  above  all,  upon  the  honesty  of  the 
workman.  Careless  or  dishonest  mechanics  are 
very  apt  to  do  the  caulking  of  the  lead  imper- 
fectly, to  omit  this  operation  entirely  at  the  under 
side  of  the  joint,  which  is  difficult  of  access,  and 
not  so  readily  inspected.  Perfect  workmanship  is 
absolutely  essential  in  the  case  of  iron  drain  pipes, 
not  less  than  for  water  or  gas  mains. 

Cast-iron  pipes  are,  sometimes,  cast  with  flanges 
at  both  ends,  but  such  joints  are  more  difficult  to 


183 

make  tight,  and  a  flange  joint,  being  more  unyield- 
ing than  a  lead  joint,  causes  fractures  of  the  pipe. 
Such  pipes  are  not  used  for  sewerage  purposes. 

There  are  other  joints  in  cast-iron  pipe,  such  as 
the  turned  and  bored  joint,  and  many  patent 
joints,  the  consideration  of  which  would  lead  us 
too  far. 

We  must,  however,  mention  rust  joints  in  cast- 
iron  pipe,  as  these  ar"e  frequently  used,  especially 
for  blow-off  pipes  from  boilers,  and  for  steam  pipes. 
In  place  of  lead,  an  iron  cement  is  employed  to 
make  a  joint.  A  quickly-setting  cement  is  com- 
posed of : — 

98  parts  fine  cast-iron  borings. 
1  part  flowers  of  sulphur. 
1  part  sal  ammoniac, 
to  be  mixed  with  boiling  water  before  use. 

A  slow-setting  cement  is  made  as  follows  : — 

197  parts  fine  cast-iron  boring. 

1  part  flowers  of  sulphur. 

2  parts  sal  ammoniac. 

Cast-iron  drain  pipes  require  a  number  of  fit- 
tings, such  as  elbows,  Y  branches,  traps,  Tee 
branches,  which  are  also  cast  with  bells  and  con- 
nected to  the  pipes  in  the  same  manner  as  lengths 
of  pipe  are  put  together. 

All  such  castings  should  be  carefully  examined, 
before  use.  They  should  be  sound,  smooth,  espe- 
cially on  the  inside,  without  lumps,  sand-holes, 
flaws  or  scoriae.  The  inspection  of  castings  is 
very  important,  for,  as  Mr.  Baldwin  Latham  says  :, 


184 

"  There  are  faults,  to  which  all  articles  made  of  cast- 
iron  are  liable,  and  which  may  escape  observation  even 
after  the  most  careful  scrutiny,  and,  in  consequence, 
there  will  ever  remain  a  certain  degree  of  uncertainty 
as  to  the  strength  of  iron  castings,  for  there  are  numer- 
ous instances  which  may,  more  or  less,  affect  the  quality 
of  the  manufactured  article,  such  as  unequal  contrac- 
tion in  cooling,  imperfections  from  latent  flaws  which 
may  be  concealed  by  a  covering  of  sound  metal,  the 
brittle  nature  of  the  material,  the  presence  of  some  de- 
leterious agent  in  the  metal  itself,  all  tending  to  render 
cast-iron  more  or  less  uncertain,  and  liable  to  fail  with- 
out warning The  proper  admixture  of  the  iron  in 

the  foundry  is  one  of  considerable  importance  in  order 
to  ensure  a  perfect  casting  ;  for,  as  different  varieties  of 
iron  have  different  points  of  fusion  and  varying  rates 
of  cooling,  unless  a  proper  admixture  is  ensured,  the 
casting  will  have  within  itself  an  element  tending  to 
produce  its  own  destruction,  for,  while  some  of  the 
metal  may  be  in  perfect  fusion,  other  parts  may  be  im- 
perfectly fused,  while  again  others  may  be  burned;  or  in 
cooling,  some  of  the  metals  may  cool  faster  or  slower 
than  others,  consequently  the  casting  may  be  thuB 
brought  into  a  state  of  unequal  tension,  or,  as  it  is 
technically  termed,  'hide-bound,' when  such  slight  in- 
fluences as  sudden  change  of  temperature  may  lead  to 
its  instant  destruction." 

If  cast-iron  pipe  is  used  for  vertical  soil,  waste 
and  vent  pipes,  it  should  be  of  the  same  character 
and  quality  as  above  described  for  drain  pipes,  for 
only  pipes  of  such  superior  properties  allow  the 
construction  of  a  pipe  system,  equally  tight  as  re- 
gards leakage  of  sewage  and  leakage  of  sewer  gas. 

It  seems  doubtful  if  cast-iron  pipes  of  such 
greater  lengths  are  equally  adapted  for  use  in  ver- 
tical as  in  horizontal  positions.  We  may  also 


185 

question  the  practicability  of  using  pipes  with  such 
heavy  bells  for  upright  pipes,  as  the  bells  would 
not  only  present  an  objectionable  appearance  where 
pipes  are  kept  in  sight,  but  would  occupy  con- 
siderable space  in  partitions  and  chaces. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  deny  the  objection  often 
made  against  iron  pipes  for  soil  pipes,  that  the 
inside  is  apt  to  corrode,  for  as  Mr.  Julius  Adams, 
a  civil  engineer  of  experience,  has  said  : 

"  It  has  been  found  that  the  objection  urged  against 
iron  soil  pipes — that  they  are  liable  to  rust  out  from  the 
inside — is  invalid,  since  they  soon  become  coated  with 
a  greasy  film,  which  entirely  prevents  corrosion." 

Within  the  last  few  years  wrought-iron  has  been 
used  extensively  for  soil,  waste,  air  and  leader 
pipes.  Although  architects  have,  in  a  few  in- 
stances, used  wrought-iron  pipes  for  such  purpose, 
in  connection  with  common  steam-fittings,  we  re- 
fer in  particular  to  the  work  known  as  the  Durham 
System  of  House  Drainage,  and  as  this  presents 
novel  features  of  interest  to  engineers,  architects 
and  sanitarians,  we  will  give  a  full  description  of 
it.*  Its  chief  departure  from  the  common  system 
of  plumbing  consists  in  the  use  of  wrought-iron 
pipes  for  all  pipes  above  ground,  especially  for  all 
upright,  soil,  waste  and  vent  pipes. 

The   pipe   used  is  the   standard,    wrought-iron, 

*  At  the  time  of  writing  this  volume,  the  author  is  connected 
with  the  Durham  System  of  House  Drainage,  holding  the  posi- 
tion of  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Durham  House  Drainage  Com- 
pany, of  New  York,  which  constructs  the  above  system.  The 
author  has  endeavored  to  give  a  fair  and  impartial  description 
of  this  system  of  construction,  leaving  the  decision  as  to  its 
merits  and  superiority  over  the  common  system  to  the  disinter- 
ested reader. 


186 


lap-welded  steam  pipe.  This  is  extensively  manu- 
factured by  many  "tube  works"  at  the  rolling  mills 
in  lengths  of  about  20  feet.  Bars  of  wrought-iron 
of  a  width  corresponding  to  the  circumference  of 
the  pipe  are  bent  up  by  means  of  powerful  ma- 
chines, while  in  a  red  heat,  to  a  circular  shape. 
The  ends  of  the  smaller  sizes  (up  to  2  inches  di- 
ameter) are  made  to  butt  against  each  other,  while 
the  larger  sizes  lap  over.  The  bars  are  then  again 
highly  heated  and  welded  together,  after  which 
operation  they  are  adjusted  so  as  to  be  exactly 
circular  in  shape. 

Before  leaving  the  works,  and  while  hot,  the 
wrought-iron  pipes  are  immersed  into  a  tank,  con- 
taining hot  liquid  asphalt,  which  coating  of  the 
pipes  effectually  protects  their  inside  against 
corrosion.  All  standard  wrought-iron  pipes  are 
tested  at  the  works  by  hydraulic  pressure  up  to 
500  Ibs.  per  sq.  inch,  and  a  guarantee  of  good  and 
durable  material  is  thus  secured. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  size,  thickness 
and  weight  of  pipes,  used  for  soil  and  vent  pipes  : 


Size  of  Pipe. 

Thickness  of  Pipe. 

Weight  in  Ibs.  per  ft. 

2* 

.154 

3.67 

3" 

.217 

7.55 

4' 

.237 

10.73 

5" 

.259 

14.56 

6" 

.280 

18.77 

Such  pipes  are  put  together  same  as  the  steam 
pipes,  with  screw  joints. 

The  screw  thread,  cut  externally  on  the  pipe,  is 
slightly  tapering,  and  so  is  the  internal  thread  cut 


187 

on  the  fittings.  It  is  customary  for  pipes  from  2 
to  6  inches  diameter  to  have  8  screw  threads  per 
inch.  These  threads  were  formerly  cut  on  a  lathe, 
if  done  by  machine  work;  if  by  hand,  by  the  use 
of  die-stocks.  Since  a  number  of  years  large 
hand  and  power  pipe-cutting  machines  have  been 
manufactured,  which  use  dies  and  cutters,  by 
which  a  large  saving  in  time  may  be  effected.  In- 
stead of  cutting  internal  threads  of  fittings  in  a 
lathe,  they  are  now  tapped  by  powerful  tapping- 
machines. 

Wrought-iron  pipes  are  screwed  into  couplings, 
or  fittings,  by  means  of  pipe-chain  tongs  (see  Fig. 
187),  on  which  a  man  can  exert  a  powerful  lever- 
age, thus  securing  the  great  desideratum,  tight 
joints. 


FIG.  187.— Chain-Pipe  Tonga. 

In  order  to  make  up  for  imperfections  in  the 
threads  of  the  pipe  and  fitting,  a  paste  is  used  in 
making  the  joints,  consisting  of  an  equal  mixture 
of  white  lead  and  linseed  oil  with  red  lead.  This 
paste  hardens  after  some  time,  and  forms  a  tight 
packing  in  the  screw-joint. 

The  pipes  are  cut  to  required  lengths  from  exact 
measurements,  in  a  power  pipe-cutting  and  thread- 
ing machine.  Straight  lengths  of  pipe  are  screwed 
together  by  means  of  wrought-iron  couplings  ;  for 
changes  of  direction,  special  fittings,  such  as 


188 

elbows,  T  and  Y  branches  are  used,  which  will  be 
described  later.  It  is  generally  possible  to  run 
such  soil  and  vent  pipes  from  floor  to  floor  with- 
out intermediate  joints;  the  total  number  of  joints 
in  each  soil  pipe  stack  is  consequently  largely  re- 
duced. 

We  quote  from  C.  W.  Durham,  C.E.,  the  inven- 
tor of  this  soil  pipe  construction: 

"  Proper  mechanical  construction  must  be  the  foun- 
dation of  any  good  system  of  drainage."....  "By  the 
use  of  wrought-iron  pipes  and  screw  joints  we  construct 
a  '  drainage  apparatus '  within  the  building,  which  is 
gas  and  water-tight  as  regards  the  joints  ;  rigid,  yet 
elastic;  entirely  independent  of  walls  or  floors  for  sup- 
port, and  absolutely  invulnerable.  As  a  structure,  it 
will  last  as  long  as  any  building  will  stand— without  any 
outlay  for  repairs." 

"  When  lengths  are  screwed  together  in  a  wrought- 
iron  coupling,  the  joint  is  as  strong  as  any  other  part  of 
the  pipe,  and  they  will  stand  up  vertically,  from  a  solid 
base,  to  the  height  of  any  building  without  lateral  sup- 
port." 

. . . . "  The  result  attained  is  a  system  of  pipes  which  are 
independent  of  the  building  for  support ;  which  cannot 
be  cracked  or  broken ;  and  whose  joints  are  perma- 
nently gas-tight  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt." 

Fig.  188  shows  a  soil  pipe  stack  as  constructed 
and  erected  by  the  Durham  Company. 

A  is  the  running  trap  on  the  main  house  drain, 
with  cleaning  holes  and  a  fresh-air  pipe,  B,  on  the 
house  side  of  the  water  seal,  carried  to  a  point 
remote  from  windows,  or  to  the  street  curb.  C  is 
the  soil  pipe  elbow  on  which  the  whole  straight 
soil  pipe  stack,  FF,  is  erected.  E  is  a  plug  in  the 


189 


soil  pipe  ell  to  remove  any  obstruction  at  this 
bend.  D  is  a  4x2  Y  branch  for  a  sink  waste,  G  a 
4x2  double  Y  branch  for  bath  and  bowl  wastes;  H 
is  a  double  cross  with  grade,  and  branches  LL  from 
water  closets. 


Fio.  188.— Soil  Pipe  Stack  as  erected  by  the  Durham  House 
Drainage  Company. 

A  novel  feature  of  this  construction  is  also  the 
manner  of  supporting  the  water-closet,  the  chief 
plumbing  appliance  in  a  dwelling,  directly  from  the 


190 


FiQ.  189.— Soil  Pipe  with  branch  

to  water-closet,  having  trap  above         branch  supporting"  a  trap- 
the  floor.  less  water-closet. 


FIG.  190.-Soil  Pipe  with 
i  tr 

A 


K, 


FIG.  191.— Soil  Pipe  with  branch  supporting  a  closet  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  soil  pipe. 


191 


soil  pipe,  independent  of  the  floor,  on  special 
elbow  fittings  or  water  closet  flanges  K  K.  This 
is  especially  important  for  water-closets  with  trap 
above  the  floor,  as.  in  the  common  system  the  joint  at 
the  floor  is  liable  to  open  through  settlement  of  floor 
or  joists.  Fig.  189  shows  a  water-closet  with  trap 
above  floor,  supported  on  the  branch  from  the  soil 
pipe.  Fig.  190  shows  a  trapless  closet  supported  in 


FIG.  193.— Soil  Pipe  with  branch  supporting  a  hopper-closet, 
with  iron  trap  below  the  floor. 

the  same  manner.  Fig.  191  shows  how  closets  at  a 
distance  from  the  soil  pipe  are  supported  on  a  cast- 
iron  base,  to  which  they  are  securely  attached.  This 
cast-iron  base  rests  on  the  floor,  but  its  waste  pipe 


192 


is  connected  to  the  soil  pipe  by  a  flexible  joint.  A 
settlement  of  the  floor  and  a  subsequent  sinking 
of  the  cast-iron  base,  holding  the  water-closet, 
cannot  loosen  or  open  the  joint  at  the  soil  pipe. 
Fig.  192  shows  the  manner  of  supporting  water- 
closets,  requiring  a  trap  below  the  floor. 

Fig.  193  shows  the  manner  in  which  the  wrought- 
iron  soil  pipes  are  screwed  into  the  elbow  fittings 


FiQ.  193.— Soil  Pipe  screwed 
Into  soil  pipe  ell,  and  drain 
pipe  caulked  into  the  same. 


FIG.  194.  —  Junction  between 
vertical  and  horizontal  pipes,, 
made  in  wrought-iron  with 
easy  curves. 


which  connect  them  with  the  underground  drain. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  change  in  the  direction 
of  the  flow  is  effected  with  an  easy  curve.  Fig.  194 
illustrates  the  same  junction  betwen  soil  pipe 
and  drain  where  the  latter  is  of  wrought-iron  and 
carried  along  the  cellar  wall.  In  both  cases  the 
construction  provides  for  hand-holes  closed  by- 
plugs  for  removal  of  accidental  obstructions. 


193 

For  drains  under  ground,  the  Durham  System 
uses  heavy  cast-iron  gas  pipe,  with  lead  joints, 
such  as  described  before  in  speaking  of  the  proper 
material  for  house  drains.  To  quote  from  Mr. 
Durham : 

"  Lead  joints  and  cast-iron  drains  are  employed  only 
for  pipes  in  a  horizontal  position,  in  which  there  can  be 
no  pulling  strains.  All  other  joints  are  screw  .joints, 
made  with  wrought-iron  pipe." 

The  fittings  of  the  Durham  System  are  special 
fittings  throughout.  Common  steam-fittings  are 
unfit  for  purposes  of  house  drainage,  as  they  leave 
interior  depressions,  when  the  pipe  is  screwed  up, 
which  would  collect  sewage.  (See  Fig.  195a). 
The  fittings  for  wrought-iron  pipe  in  the  Durham 
System  are  tapped  with  a  shoulder  (Fig.  195b), 


FIG.  195a.— Steam  pipe  screwed  into  a  common  steam  fitting. 
FIG.  195b.— Asphalted  wrought-iron  pipe  screwed  into  a  special 
fitting  of  the  Durham  System. 


and  when  the  wrought-iron  pipe  is  screwed  home,, 
its  interior  and  that  of  the  fitting  form  a  practically 


194 


continuous  line.  (See  Fig.  196).  All  pipes,  however, 
do  not  screw  up  equally,  and  it  happens 
that  occasionally  a  small  recess  remains 
between  the  end  of  the  pipe  and  the 
shoulder  of  the  fitting.  Such  recess  will 
be  too  small  to  be  of  any  harm,  at  any 
rate  it  cannot  collect  more  sewage  mat- 
ter than  the  inevitable  recesses  in  cast- 
iron  pipe  at  the  point  where  the  spigot 
end  should  touch  the  inside  of  socket. 
With  tight  joints,  it  would  seem  as  if 
FIG  1%  —  seri°us  harmneednot.be  apprehended 
Screw  joint,  f rOm  such  unavoidable  imperfections. 

The  usual  fittings  for  heavy  gas  pipe,  such  as  are 
used  by  gas  and  water- works,  are  not  well  adapted 
for  sewerage  purposes.  The  Durham  System 
uses,  therefore,  a  large  number  of  special  fittings 
for  cast-iron  pipe,  and  also  some  for  both  cast-iron 
and  wrought-iron  pipes.  All  these  have  hubs  of 
great  strength,  shaped  as  shown  in  Fig.  197. 

All  fittings  are  carefully  pro- 
tected from  rust  by  dipping 
them  in  a  bath  of  liquid  asphalt. 
The  following  is  a  condensed 
list  showing  the  varieties  of 
fittings,  manufactured  for  use 
with  the  Durham  System,  a 
few  of  these  being  shown  in  sketches.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  wrought-iron  pipe  requires  a  larger 
variety  of  elbows  and  other  fittings,  as  the  screw 
joint  does  not  allow  of  the  least  deviation,  such  as 
may  be  made  in  the  lead  caulked  joint.  The  spe- 
cial fittings  are : 


FIG.  197.— Socket  of 
cast-iron  special  fit- 
ting of  the  Durham 
System. 


195 

a,  for  cast-iron  pipe,  3",  4*  and  6"  diameter: 

Running  traps  (Figs.  45  and  46),  leader 
traps  with  deep  water  seal  and  cellar- 
floor  traps  (Fig.  167). 

90°,  60°,  45°,  22|°,  llj°,  5-J°  ells,  with  one 
or  two  hubs.  (Fig.  198,  a,  b,  c,  d,  e,f). 


&.      \      c.       a.        e.        £         g.        K. 

FIG.  198.— Elbow  fittings  of  the  Durham  System,  for  cast-iron 
pipe. 

Tee  branches  of  all  sizes.      (Fig.  199,  a,  b). 

a. 


a. 

FIG.  199.— Tee  fittings  of  the  Durham  System,  for  cast-iron  pipe. 

Y  branches,  45°  (Fig.  200),  all  sizes,  with  or 

without  hand-holes. 
Y  branches,  90°  (Fig.  201),  all  sizes,  with  or 

without  hand-holes. 
Reducers,  for  all  sizes. 


FIG.  200.— 45°  T  branch  for  cast-iron  drain 
pipes,  shown  in  perspective. 

FIG.  201.  —  90°  Y 
branch,  for  cast-iron 
drain  pipes,  shown  in. 
horizontal  section. 


196 

b,  for  cast-iron  pipe,  with  openings  tapped  for 
wrought-iron  pipe: 

Soil  pipe  ells  (Fig.  193  and  Fig.  198,  A). 
Sink  ells,  all  sizes.      (Fig.  198,  g) 
Tees  of  all  sizes.     (Fig.  199,  c). 
Cast  and  wrought-iron  connection  pieces  or 
couplings.     (See  Fig.  202,  a,  5,  c). 


a.  b  c. 

FIG.  202.— Cast-iron  and  wrought-iron  connection  fittings  of 
the  Durham  System. 

c,  for  wrought-iron  pipe,   2%   3",   4",   5"   and   6* 
diameter: 

Plain  ells,  ells  with  J*  and  with  lff  grade, 
Three-way  ells,  60°,  45°,  22£°,  llj°  and 
5f°  ells.  (Fig.  203,  a,  b,  c,  d,  e,f). 


b.       c.       d.        e.        £ 
TIG.  203.— Ells  for  wrought-iron  pipe. 

Water-closet  ells  (Fig.  203,  A),  and  water- 
closet  flanges 

Plain  Tees  and  graded  Tees  of  all  sizes 
(Fig.  204,  b,  c),  water-closet  Tees  (Fig. 
204,  a),  Crosses,  with  and  without  grade 
(Fig.  205),  Increasers  and  Reducers  of  all 
sizes,  45°  and  67|°  Y  branches,  in  all 
sizes  (Fig.  204,  d,e). 


197 


a.  V         c.        i,          t. 

FIG.  204.— Tees  and  Y  branches  for  wrought-iron  pipe. 


a.  b.  fc. 

FIG.  205.— Crosses  and  double  Y  branches. 

Water-closet  traps  (Fig.    192),  yard  drain 

traps,  bushings,  plugs,  couplings,  nipples, 

caps,  union  couplings  and  flange  unions. 

It  occasionally  happens  in  any  system  of  soil  or 

waste  pipes  that  a  length  of  pipe  must  be  taken 

out  and  replaced,  which  can  only  be  effected  with 

plumbers'  soil  pipe  by  bursting  a  fitting.     Such  a 

result  can   also  be  attained  in  wrought-iron   soil 

pipes  by  breaking  a  fitting  ;  the  new  length  can  be 

inserted  either  by  a  flange- joint,  or  else  by  the  use 

of  a  running  thread  and  a  lock-nut.     It  must  be 

remembered   that,   in   the  case  of  plumbers'   soil 

pipe,  a  heavy  knocking  to  break  the  pipe  is  likely 

to  loosen  many,  if  not  all  lead  joints  of  the  stack, 

while  the  screw-joints  are  not  as  easily  affected. 

It  is  true,  on  the  other  hand,  that  cast-iron  pipes 
are  more  easily  and  quickly  cut  for  making  con- 
nections without  the  necessity  of  great  mechanical 
skill  or  any  expensive  tools.  Wrought-iron  pipes 
require  heavy  and  costly  stationary  machines  to 
which  the  pipe  must  be  sent,  or  else  slow-working 
and  expensive  hand-tools  for  cutting  and  threading. 


198 

The  lengths  must  be  measured  very  accurately, 
and  put  together  by  skilled  mechanics. 

Some  of  the  fittings,  for  instance  Y  branches  for 
wrought-iron  pipe,  are  not  so  easily  put  in  place,  on 
upright  pipes  in  chaces,  as  the  cast-iron  fittings, 
but  a  skilled  mechanic  is  generally  able,  with  a  little 
ingenuity,  to  overcome  such  difficulties. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  asserted  that  wrought- 
iron  rusts  quicker  than  cast-iron,  if  plain  and 
entirely  unprotected.  This  is  true  and  well- 
known  to  every  engineer,  but  it  does  not  prevent 
engineers  from  using  an  otherwise  excellent,  and, 
in  many  respects  and  for  many  uses,  superior  ma- 
terial. All  iron  pipes  used  for  sewerage  purposes 
must  be  efficiently  protected  against  corrosion,  and 
such  is  done  with  cast-iron  pipes  by  coating  them 
with  coal-tar  pitch,  while  wrought-iron  pipes  are 
dipped,  thoroughly  heated,  into  hot  asphalt. 
There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  such  coating,  if 
done  with  equal  care,  should  wear  off,  when  the 
pipe  is  in  use,  quicker  from  wrought-iron  than  from 
cast-iron  pipes.  It  is  a  fact  that  all  soil  and  waste 
pipes  are  coated  after  a  little  use  with  a  peculiar, 
greasy  slime,  which  tends  to  protect  the  pipe — a 
cast-iron  as  well  as  a  wrought-iron  x>ipe — against 
corrosion. 

As  mechanical  science  advances,  better  means 
will  undoubtedly  be  available  to  protect  soil  pipes 
from  corrosion. 

Amongst  rust-preventing  processes  of  recent 
origin  I  mention  the  Bower  Barff  Rustless  Pro- 
cess, which  consists  in  subjecting  iron  or  steel  to 
the  action  of  superheated  steam  in  a  furnace,  until 


199 


the  surface  of  the  iron  is  covered  with  a  more  or 
less  thick  coating  of  magnetic  oxide,  which,  as  is 
well-known,  is  unaffected  by  exposure  to  air  or 
moisture.  The  advantages  of  such  a  process  are 
obvious  :  above  all,  every  part  of  the  article  is 
reached  and  treated,  while  with  painting,  oiling, 
enameling,  or  asphalting,  corner  nooks  and  flaws 
in  the  iron  may  not  be  reached,  thus  not  insuring 
such  a  thorough  protection  against  rust. 

The  thoroughly  jointed  and  ventilated  soil  and 


FIG.  183.— Soil,  Waste  and  Air  Pipe  System  in  a  Country  Dwelling. 

waste  pipe  system,  receives,  as  shown  in  Fig.   1 83, 
the  waste  water  from  plumbing   fixtures   through. 


200 

short  branch  waste  pipes  of  drawn  lead  pipe.  The 
latter  is  made  of  all  sizes  in  coils  of  any  desired 
length,  by  pressing  molten  lead  by  means  of  a  hy- 
draulic press  through  dies,  through  which  a  core 
is  inserted.  Waste  pipes  of  lead  should  be  of  the 
following  sizes  : 

For  one  wash-bowl  1J  inches  diameter. 

For  a  row  of  basins          1^-       "  " 

For  a  bath-tub  l£       "  " 

For  a  row  of  bath-tubs, 

likely  to  be  used  at  once  2         "  " 

For  a  pantry  sink  1  \       "  " 

For  a  kitchen  sink  1|       "  " 

For  a  set  of  laundry  trays  1 J       "  " 

For  a  slop  sink  l|-2  "  " 

The  weight  should  be  about  2  Ibs.  for  1 J  inch 
pipe,  2J  Ibs.  for  1J  inch  pipe,  and  3  Ibs.  for  2  inch 
pipe.  All  joints  in  lead  pipe  should  be  wiped 
solder  joints,  and  no  cup  joints  should  be  tolerated, 
except  where  local  circumstances  render  the  wiping 
of  a  joint  impossible.  The  following  brief  des- 
cription of  the  manner  of  making  a  wiped  joint  is 
taken  from  the  "  Metalworker  :  " 

"  The  first  thing  to  do  in  setting  about  making  a 
joint  is  to  straighten  the  two  pieces  of  pipe,  to  get  out  all 
buckles  or  sags.  It  is  essential  that  the  two  pieces  of 
pipe  to  be  joined  shall  be  so  placed  or  fastened  as  to  be 
quite  firm  during  the  operation,  so  that  they  shall  re- 
tain their  position  while  the  joint  is  being  wiped.  It  is 
also  necessary  that  the  ends  of  each  of  the  pieces  of  the 
pipe  shall  be  clean  and  free  from  oxide  for  a  short  dis- 
tance back  from  the  edges  which  are  to  be  joined.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  solder  from  adhering  to  other  parts 
than  those  desired,  both  pieces  of  pipe  are  to  be  smeared 
with  what  is  called  plumbers'  soil  (composed  of  glue  and 


201 

lamp-black  dissolved  in  water),  as  far  from  the  joint  as 
there  is  any  liability  of  the  solder  touching.  The  soil 
is  applied  to  the  pipes  with  a  small  brush.  The  opera- 
tion of  making  the  ends  of  the  pipe  which  are  to  be 
joined  clean  and  free  from  oxide  is  to  scrape  them  with 
a  shave  hook  as  far  back  as  it  is  desired  the  solder 
should  take  effect.  After  the  surfaces  of  the  two  pipes 
have  thus  been  made  bright,  they  are  to  be  lightly  rub- 
bed over  with  tallow,  in  order  to  prevent  oxidation  by 
the  air.  Prior  to  the  operation  of  scraping  the  ends  of 
the  pipe  just  mentioned,  one  of  the  two  pieces  is  to  be 
opened  somewhat  in  order  to  let  the  end  of  the  other 


FIG.  206.— Wiped  Joint  In  Lead  Pipe. 

piece  fit  into  it.  The  opening  of  the  pipe  is  accomp- 
lished by  means  of  a  turn-pin.  After  the  pipes  have 
been  properly  prepared  as  described,  the  two  ends  are 
placed  together,  and  the  joint  is  closed  up  by  tapping  it 
lightly  with  the  hammer.  At  this  stage  the  operator  is 
ready  for  the  solder,  and  to  use  the  plumbers'  cloth  or 
soldering  cloth.  Solder  is  now  poured  on  to  the  two 
ends  of  the  pipe  by  means  of  the  ladle.  Pouring  the 
solder  against  the  joint,  the  plumber  works  it  back- 
ward and  forward,  and  around  the  joint,  his  fingers 
being  protected  all  the  time  by  the  cloth  until  the  pipe 
has  become  heated,  and  sufficient  solder  has  adhered  to 
it  to  make  the  joint.  Having  shaped  it  into  a  bulbous 


202 

form,  he  completes  the  work  by  wiping  it  to  shape  after 
the  manner  indicated  in  Fig.  206." 

Where  lead  pipe  joins  iron  pipe  the  following 
mode  of  connection  is  recommended :  If  the  soil 
or  air  pipes  are  of  cast  iron,  brass  caulking  ferrules 
must  be  used,  soldered  to  the  lead  pipe,  and  caulked 
with  oakum  and  lead  into  the  hub  of  the  iron  pipe. 
Where  the  soil  pipe  system  is  of  wrought  iron,  lead 
waste  pipes  and  lead  branch  air  pipes  from  traps 
are  connected  to  it  by  brass  screw  nipples,  wiped 
to  the  lead  pipe  with  solder,  and  screwed  tightly 
with  red  lead  and  a  wrench  into  the  threaded  open- 
ing  of  the  fitting. 

Each  fixture,  connected  to-  the  soil  or  waste  pipe 
system,  must  be  provided  as  near  as  possible  to  its 
outlet  with  a  suitable  trap,  secure  against  siphonage, 
back  pressure,  evaporation,  etc.  If  lead  traps  are 
used,  the  weight  of  the  lead  should  be  equivalent 
to  the  weight  of  the  lead  pipe. 

Each  fixture  should,  wherever  possible,  discharge 
into  the  main  soil  or  waste  pipe  independently. 
The  branch  wastes  should  in  all  cases  be  as  short 
and  direct  as  possible,  and  this  will  largely  depend 
on  a  judicious  planning  and  locating  of  fixtures  by 
the  architect. 

Overflow  pipes,  if  such  are  used  for  fixtures, 
must  connect  to  the  waste  pipe  on  the  inlet  side  of 
the  trap  or  below  its  water  level,  or  else  they  must 
discharge  over  a  "safe." 

Drip  pipes  for  safes  under  fixtures  should  not 
have  any  connection  whatever  with  any  soil  or 
waste  pipe  or  drain.  They  should  be  collected  in 
the  basement  or  cellar  and  discharge  over  an  open 


203 

sink,  so  that  any  leakage  may  be  at  once  apparent. 

Refrigerator  wastes  must  never  be  directly  con- 
nected to  any  soil,  waste  or  drain  pipe.  These 
wastes  are  very  apt  to  become  coated  with  slime 
and  dirt  in  a  short  time  ;  they  frequently  stop  up, 
and  are  generally  liable  to  become  offensive, 
especially  if  the  ice  used  is  very  impure. 

The  outlets  of  all  "set"  fixtures  except  water 
closets  should  be  protected  against  obstruction  or 
chokage  by  a  fixed  strainer. 

I  close  this  chapter  with  the  following  brief  de- 
scription by  Mr.  E.  C.  Gardner,  architect,  of  what 
a  well  devised  soil  pipe  system  should  be: 

"Theoretically,  this  is  the  whole  machinery  of  safe, 
'sanitary'  plumbing:  A  large  open  pipe  kept  as  clean 
and  free  as  possible,  into  which  the  smaller  drains  empty, 
these  smaller  drains  or  waste-pipes  having  their  mouths 
always  full,  and  being  able,  so  to  speak,  to  swallow  in 
but  one  direction.  Everything  can  go  down;  nothing  can 
come  up.  That  all  these  pipes  shall  be  of  sound  material, 
not  liable  to  corrosion;  that  the  different  pieces  of  which 
they  are  composed  shall  be  tightly  joined;  that  they 
shall  be  so  firmly  supported  that  they  will  not  bend  or 
break  by  their  own  weight,  or  through  the  changes  of 
temperature  to  which  they  are  subject,  and  that  they 
shall  be,  if  not  always  in  plain  sight,  at  most  only  hidden 
by  some  covering  easily  removed,  are  points  which  the 
commonest  kind  of  common  sense  would  not  fail  to  ob- 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PLUMBING    FIXTUEES. 


Description  of  Plumbing  Fixtures. 


selection  of  proper  plumbing  fixtures 
will  next  require  our  attention.  To  use 
cheaper  and  inferior  articles  would  be,  in  all  cases, 
a  mistaken  economy.  Such  cheap  fixtures  not  only- 
wear  out  much  sooner  than  a  good,  although  more 
costly,  article  of  manufacture,  but  they  will  often 
require  repairing,  patching  up,  and  the  bills  for 
the  latter  work  will,  in  many  cases,  exceed  the 
amount  of  the  first  expenditure.  A  wise  house- 
holder will  reduce  the  number  of  his  plumbing 
fixtures  to  a  minimum,  but  will  choose  none  but 
first-class  appliances. 

How  to  arrange  such  fixtures  properly,  where  to 
place  them,  and  how  to  keep  them  sweet  and  clean 
after  use,  will  be  discussed  further  on.  We  will 
first  briefly  review  the  kind  of  fixtures  to  be  used, 
without,  however,  giving  a  detailed  description  of 
all  appliances  at  present  in  the  market. 

The  kitchen  sink  may  be  of  cast-iron,  and  can 
be  painted,  galvanized  or  enamelled,  or  it  may  be 
of  soapstone.  Galvanized  or  enamelled  sinks  will 
last  only  a  few  years,  after  which  the  galvanizing 
wears  out,  while  the  enamel  scales  off.  Plain 
painted  sinks  require  frequent  renewal  of  the 


205 

paint,  and  cannot  be  recommended.  Soapstone 
sinks  are  better,  but  they  soon  assume  a  dark  color 
and  a  greasy  appearance.  Sinks  of  wrought-steel 
have  lately  been  introduced  into  the  market,  and 
may  prove  to  be  economical  and  not  easily  worn 
out  if  protected  against  corrosion  by  the  Bower- 
Barff  rustless  process.  The  neatest,  most  cleanly 
and  best  sinks  for  use  are  those  in  earthenware, 
which  are  imported  from  England,  and  are  made 
in  all  required  sizes.  Their  external  beauty — espe- 
cially if  put  up  in  a  light  open  frame,  with  a 
marble  back,  and  set  on  a  tiled  floor — and  the  fact 
that  they  are  non-absorbent,  will  soon  make  earthen 
or  porcelain  sinks  the  general  favorites  amongst 
house-wives. 

Kitchen  sinks,  of  whatever  description,  should 
have  the  outlet  protected  by  a  fixed  strainer  to- 
prevent  obstructions  of  the  waste  pipe.  The 
waste  pipe,  generally  a  l£  inch  pipe,  which  size  is 
ample  in  all  cases,  should  be  trapped  directly 
underneath  the  sink  by  an  efficient  trap.  As  the 
kitchen  sink  is  in  constant  use,  there  is  no  danger 
in  using  an  S-trap,  protected  by  a  vent  pipe  against 
siphonage.  The  connection  of  the  vent  pipe 
should  be  at  the  crown  of  the  trap,  and  to  prevent 
stoppage  of  the  vent  pipe  at  the  crown  by  soap- 
suds or  grease,  it  should  preferably  be  made  as 
shown  in  sketch,  Fig.  207.  Lead  or  brass  traps- 
might,  with  advantage,  be  cast  with  a  funnel- 
shaped  vent  pipe  attachment,  such  as  shown  in 
the  sketch.  As  kitchen  sinks  are  generally 
located  on  the  basement  floor,  an  overflow  pipe 
is  unnecessary.  For  sinks  in  small  households, 


206 


I  should  advise  against  the  use  of  any  grease 
trap,  as  the  grease  may,  with  advantage,  be  saved 
and  not  poured  out  into  the  sink.  For  large  man- 
sions, restaurant  kitchens,  boarding  houses,  the 


SINK, 


THAI* 


FIG.  307.— Kitchen  Sink  trapped  by  a  vented  S-trap. 

use  of  a  grease  trap,  preferably  one  located  out- 
side of  the  house,  is  recommended.  Grease  traps 
inside  a  dwelling,  under  or  near  a  pantry  or  kitchen 
«ink,  will,  in  most  cases,  become  a  cesspool,  and 
prove  a  serious  nuisance,  unless  carefully  and  often 
cleaned. 

The  neatest  material  for  laundry  tubs — and, 
in  fact,  for  nearly  every  fixture  in  the  house — is 
porcelain,  as  it  is  non-absorbent  and  most  cleanly. 
Such  tubs  are,  of  course,  more  expensive,  and  for 
this  reason  are  not  generally  used.  Soapstone 
tubs,  as  well  as  cement  stone  tubs,  answer  very 
well,  the  latter  being  made  in  one  piece  without 
«eams. 


207 

The  waste  pipe  for  a  set  of  three  or  four  tubs 
should  be  1  £  inches  diameter  ;  an  overflow  pipe  is 
not  necessary,  except  where  the  laundry  is  located 
on  the  top  floor  of  the  house.  Theoretically,  each 
tub  should  have  a  separate  trap,  but  in  practice, 
one  trap  is  almost  always  used  for  the  whole  set, 
placed  either  at  one  end  of  the  set  or  under  the 
middle  tub.  If  the  laundry  tubs  are  in  constant 
use,  a  properly  vented  S-trap  or  a  running  siphon 
trap  of  the  Du  Bois  pattern  should  be  used  ;  if  not 
in  constant  use,  it  may  be  advisable  to  use  one 
of  the  mechanical  traps. 

Pantry  sinks  are  generally  made  of  copper, 
either  with  oval-shaped  bottom  or  with  a  flat  bot- 
tom. Small  earthenware  sinks,  for  the  butler's 
pantry,  are  very  clean  and  attractive  in  appear- 
ance, but  with  them  glass  and  crockery  ware  are 
more  exposed  to  frequent  breakage.  Copper  sinks 
should  be  tinned  and  planished,  and  the  copper 
must  have  a  weight  of  not  less  than  18  oz.,  better 
24  oz.  per  sq.  foot.  They  are  frequently  closed  by 
a  plated  plug  or  stopper,  but  sometimes  the  waste 
pipe  is  closed  by  a  waste  cock.  In  both  cases  an 
overflow  pipe  is  used,  connected  to  the  waste 
pipe  below  the  water  seal  of  the  trap.  Better  than 
either  arrangement  would  be  a  short  standing 
overflow,  inserted  into  the  socket  of  the  waste 
pipe  (see  Fig.  208),  thus  doing  away  with  a  possi- 
ble nuisance,  the  separate  overflow  pipe.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  standing  waste  from  being  in  the 
way  while  washing  dishes,  we  would  suggest  to 
have  the  pantry  sink  flat-bottomed,  with  a  slight 
slope  towards  the  outlet,  and  made  with  a  recess 


208 

for  the  standing  waste,  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 
The  waste  pipe  for  the  sink  should  be  not  larger 
than  H  inches  ;  1  \  inch  is  preferable,  and  the  trap. 


I 

STA(Y0IW& 


4— V 


FIG.  208.— Pantry  Sink  with  standing  overflow. 

should  be  of  this  same  size.  Pantry  sinks  for 
hotels  or  large  establishments,  should  have  a  grease 
trap  to  intercept  the  fat  removed  by  washing 
dishes  and  plates. 

Refrigerators  should  not  have  waste  pipes  con- 
nected  directly  with  any  drain  or  sewer.    Those  of 


.  209 

smaller  size  may  waste  into  pails,  removable  by 
hand.  Larger  sizes  should  waste  into  an  open  cup  or 
tray,  connected  to  a  drain  or  soil  pipe  by  a  trapped 
waste  pipe,  provided  with  a  tight-shutting  stop- 
cock on  the  line  of  the  waste  pipe,  which  should 
be  shut  each  time  the  refrigerator  is  put  out  of  use. 

Stationary  wash-stands  have  been  extensively 
used,  not  only  in  bath-rooms  or  lavatories,  but  in 
sleeping-rooms,  in  nurseries,  in  hospital  wards,  and 
in  offices.  Being  in  almost  every  instance  defec- 
tive in  construction  and  general  arrangement,  they 
have,  in  innumerous  instances,  been  the  cause  of 
sufferings,  headache,  general  debility,  sickness  or 
fatal  illness.  Since  the  public  has  become  aware  of 
the  dangers  and  risks  connected  with  cheap  or  dis- 
honest plumbing  work,  a  great  cry  has  been  raised 
against  stationary  wash-bowls,  and  most  of  the  sick- 
ness due  to  imperfect  drainage  in  general  has  been 
attributed  to  this  one  fixture.  This  view,  however, 
is  erroneous,  for  any  kind  of  plumbing  appliance 
not  properly  trapped  and  ventilated  is  a  danger 
and  risk  to  health,  if  placed  in  a  living  or  sleeping- 
room  or  office,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no 
good  reason  why  a  wash-bowl  might  not  be  fitted 
up  in  as  perfect  a  manner  as  a  water-closet,  a  sink 
or  a  bath-tub,  if  placed  in  a  well-ventilated  bath 
or  dressing-room. 

Wash-basins  should  be  of  porcelain,  and  are 
made  either  round  or  oval  in  shape.  (See  Fig. 
209a  and  209b).  Oval  wash-bowls  have  been  intro- 
duced only  recently,  and  are  appreciated  by  many 
as  being  of  a  more  convenient  shape.  As  com- 
monly fitted  up,  wash-bowls  have  on  their  bottom 


210 


-a  socket  and  coupling,  to  which  the  waste  pipe  is 
attached.     The  bowl  is  closed  so  as  to  hold  water 


FIG.  209a.— Round  Wash-bowl. 


FIG.  209b.— Oval  Wash-bowl. 

"by  means  of  a  plug,  to  be  inserted  into  the  socket. 
The  bowl  requires  in  this  case  an  overflow  pipe, 
which,  as  I  have  repeatedly  stated,  remains  imper- 
fectly flushed,  and  is  often  ill-smelling. 

To  insure  cleanliness  of  the  bowl,  it  should  be 
possible  to  empty  it  quickly.  A  novel  bowl,  which 
is  said  to  be  quick-emptying,  has  lately  been  manu- 
factured in  England,  and  is  shown  in  vertical  sec- 
tion in  Fig.  210.  The  outlet  is  supposed  to  be 
closed  by  a  waste-valve  at  some  distance  from  the 
bowl. 


211 


FIG.  210.— Tyler's  Quick-emptying  Bowl. 
This  bowl,  as  well  as  others  of  the  common 
round  shape,  are  now  made  with  a  flushing  rim  on 
top,  the  hot  and  cold  water  being  introduced  by  a 
nozzle  and  entering  the  bowl  simultaneously  at  all 
sides,  giving  it  a  thorough  cleansing.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a  great  improvement,  which  recommends 
itself  at  once  for  lavatories  in  hotels,  hospitals, 
barracks  and  club-houses.  (Fig.  211). 


FIG.  211.— Flushing  Rim  Wash-bowl. 
If  not  closed  at  the  bottom  by  a  plug,  wash- 
bowls are  fitted  up  with  waste- valves,  which  in  most 


212 

<jases  take  the  place  of  the  objectionable  overflow 
pipe,  while  in  a  few  of  them  the  ordinary  overflow 
is  used. 

Fig.   212    represents  the   top    of    a   wash-bowl, 


FIG.  212.— Boston  Waste-Cock. 

showing  the  supply  cocks,  and  in  place  of  the 
usual  chain  stay,  chain  and  plug,  the  handle  of  a 
Boston  waste,  which  is  simply  a  ground  cock  with 
large  water  way  on  the  waste  pipe.  The  overflow 
pipe  must  join  the  waste  pipe  beyond  the  waste- 
cock. 

Fig.  213  shows  Foley's  waste  valve  for  basins, 
which  dispenses  with  a  special  overflow  pipe,  as 
the  overflow  takes  place  through  the  hollow  center 
of  the  waste  valve. 

Boyle's  waste  valve  (Fig.  214)  is  very  similar  in 
principle  to  the  preceding  one,  but  here  the  waste 
and  overflow  are  shaped  in  one  piece  with  the 
bowl,  and  the  hollow  stand  pipe,  forming  the  valve, 
and  overflow  pipe,  is  inserted  into  the  space  at  the 
rear  of  the  bowl. 


213 


Pro.  213.— Foley's  Waste  Valve. 


Fio.  214.— Boyle's  Waste  Valve. 


214 


Bennor's  secret  overflow  basin  differs  from  the 
above  merely  in  having  the  handle  which  lifts  the 
valve  coming  out  below  the  slab  in  the  bowl,  not 
on  top  of  the  slab.  (See  Fig.  215). 


FIG.  215.— Bennor's  Waste  Valve. 

McFarland's  waste  (Fig.  216)  for  basins  requires 
a  short  overflow,  and  has  a  valve,  shutting  off  the 


FIG.  216.— McFarland's  Waste. 


waste,  and  having  a  number  of  holes  in  its  body 
to  allow  the  water  from  the  overflow  pipe  to  pass 
through,  should  such  an  overflow  occur. 


215 


FIG.  217.— Maddock's  Sanitary  Wash-basin 


Maddock's  sanitary  wash-basin 
(see  Fig.  217)  is  somewhat  similar 
to  Boyle's  valve,  and  its  con- 
struction can  be  easily  understood 
from  the  sketch. 

Cooper,  Jones  &  Cadbury's  se- 
cret overflow  valve  is  illustrated  in 
Fig.  218.  The  cut  shows  plainly 
the  manner  of  lifting  the  plug  or 
valve  to  discharge  the  bowl,  and 
likewise  the  course  that  any  over- 
flowing water  would  take,  if  the 
valve  should  be  closed. 

Moore's  no-overflow  basin  valve 
(Fig.  219)  differs  from  those  men- 
tioned, in  dispensing  altogether 
with  the  overflow  pipe.  This  re- 
sult is  attained  by  attaching  to  the 
rod  of  the  waste  valve  a  large 
copper  float.  If  the  water  rises  in 


PIG.  218.-Cooper, 

Jones  &  Cadbury's 

Secret  Overflow 

Valve. 


216 


the    bowl    to    the    height  shown  in  the  cut,  the 


FIG.  219.— Moore's  No-overflow  Wash  Bowl 

float  commences  to  lift  the  valve,  and  the  water 
run  out  of  the  waste  pipe  until  its  level  is  so 


j 


FIG.  230.— Weaver's  Waste  for  Bowls. 


217 


much  lowered  as  to  allow  the  float  and,  conse- 
quently, the  valve  to  drop  again  in  its  seat. 

Fig.  220  illustrates  a  wash-basin  fitted  up  with 
Weaver's  waste.  As  will  be  seen,  this  shut-off 
differs  from  all  previous  ones,  by  closing  the  basin 
directly  at  its  outlet,  in  the  place  where  the  usual 
socket  and  plug  is  arranged.  By  pushing  the 
knob,  the  plug  is  raised  by  means  of  the  lever 
shown.  The  overflow  pipe  joins  the  waste  pipe 
below  the  Weaver  waste. 

Quite  similar  to  Weaver's  waste  is  Stidder's 
waste  valve  for  basins,  shown  in  Fig.  221,  an 


FIG.  221.— Stidder's  Waste  for  Bowls. 


English  arrangement.  The  supply  is  shown  to 
enter  the  bowl  at  the  bottom,  just  above  the  plug, 
which  closes  the  outlet.  Such  a  method  of  supply 
is  not  usual  in  American  plumbing. 

A   large    number    of    other    waste-valves    are 


218 


in  the  market,  more  or  less  similar  in  principle  and 
construction  to  the  ones  described  above. 

There  can  scarcely  be  any  doubt  about  the  con- 
venience of  such  waste  valves  as  compared  with 
the  chain  and  plug  arrangement.  With  few  ex- 
ceptions, however,  these  waste  valves  close  the  basin 
at  a  great  distance  from  the  outlet  strainer,  and  foul 
matter,  left  from  previous  use,  may  mingle  with  the 
clean  water  drawn,  which  is  anything  but  agreeable. 
Some  of  the  plugs  will  close  imperfectly  if  hair  or 
lint  catches  at  the  seat,  and  in  such  a  case  it  is  im- 
possible to  hold  water  in  the  bowl,  to  the  great 
annoyance  of  the  person  intending  to  use  it.  Al- 
though the  valve  chambers  are  mostly  accessible 
for  cleaning  purposes,  the  latter  operation  is  easily 
neglected  and  foul  slime  may  accumulate  in  the 
valve  chamber,  the  putrefaction  of  which  would 
soon  be  the  cause  of  annoying  odors. 

Tip-up  lavatories  (Fig.   222)   have  been  in  use 


FIQ.  222.— Tip-up  Basin. 

many  years,  and  nobody  can  doubt  their  great  con- 
venience.    They  do  away  with  the  objectionable 


219 

chain  and  plug,  and,  at  the  same  time,  dispense 
with  the  overflow  pipes  altogether. 

The  only  criticism  that  can  be  raised  against 
them  is  the  possibility  of  the  lower  bowl  becomiiig 
foul.  This  objection  has  been  overcome  recently 
by  arranging  the  upper  bowl  so  as  to  be  easily 
lifted  and  removed,  and  by  making  the  lower  bowl 
or  receiver,  quick-emptying.  Even  then  the  clean- 
liness of  such  apparatus  depends,  of  course,  upon 
the  care  and  conscientiousness  of  the  servants. 

The  author  would  suggest  a  self -cleansing  wash- 
bowl, without  overflow  pipe,  as  follows: 

A  tip-up  basin,  the  top  bowl  to  be  arranged  so 
as  to  be  easily  lifted  for  cleansing  purposes.  The 
lower  bowl  to  be  arranged  with  outlet  near  back  so 
as  to  be  quick-emptying.  The  top  of  the  lower 
bowl  to  be  provided  with  a  flushing  rim,  and  a 
supply  pipe  to  this  flushing  rim  so  arranged  by 
means  of  stop-cocks,  levers  and  valves,  that 
each  time  the  upper  bowl,  which  is  hung  on  pivots, 
is  tilted,  the  supply  valve  is  opened,  allowing  a 
liberal  flush  of  water  to  rush  through  the  flushing 
rim  into  the  lower  basin. 

The  waste  pipe  for  wash-bowls  need,  in  most 
cases,  not  be  larger  than  1 J  inches  diameter,  except 
where  the  pressure  of  water  in  the  supply  pipes  is 
very  large,  furnishing  a  heavy  stream  of  water. 
In  this  case  the  waste  pipe  must  be  made  large 
enough  to  remove  all  the  water  without  danger  of 
an  overflow. 

If  the  bowl  is  in  constant  use,  an  S-trap,  prop- 
erly vented  (see  Fig.  207),  is  the  best  trap  for 
its  waste  pipe.  If  located  in  bath-rooms,  which 


220 

are  not  always  in  use,  a  different  method  of  trapping 
may  be  advisable.  No  general  rules  can  be  stated 
applicable  to  all  cases  ;  we  refer,  however,  to  the 
chapters  on  traps,  especially  Chapter  VI.,  page  121 
to  130. 

The  best  and  neatest  non-absorbent  bath-tubs 
are  those  of  porcelain,  imported  from  England. 
Their  great  cost,  and  the  heavy  weight  of  each 
tub,  offer  obstacles  to  their  more  general  introduc- 
tion in  other  dwellings  than  those  of  the  wealthy. 
Their  use  in  hospitals  and  public  bathing-houses 
should  be  much  encouraged.  In  this  country,  the 
majority  of  bath-tubs  are  made  by  lining  a  wooden 
box,  blocked  out  to  desired  shape,  with  tinned  and 
planished  copper,  weighing  from  10  to  24  ozs.  per 
sq.  ft.  Such  tubs  are  very  good,  except  that  they 
require,  for  appearance's  sake,  a  casing  of  wood- 
work, which,  for  sanitary  reasons,  should  be  done 
away  with  as  much  as  possible. 

Iron  bath-tubs,  lined  with  a  porcelain  enamel, 
are  made  to  stand  on  legs  free  on  the  floor.  They 
are  a  very  satisfactory  article,  the  only  objection 
to  their  use  being  the  scaling  off  of  the  enamel. 
In  Europe,  bath-tubs  are  made  of  metal  sufficiently 
heavy  to  stand  without  wooden  framing  or  lining. 
Sometimes  tubs  are  made  of  slate  or  marble  slabs, 
cemented  together;  in  this  case  it  is  preferable,  for 
convenience's  sake,  to  lower  the  tub  one  or  more 
steps,  which  arrangement  is  often  adopted  for 
public  bathing  establishments. 

The  usual  bath-tubs  in  American  dwellings  have 
wastes  closed,  at  or  near  the  bottom,  by  a  plug,  with 
chain  (Fig.  223),  or  by  a  waste  cock  of  some  kind,  in 


221 


which  case  a  common  overflow  pipe 
or  a  channel  in  the  waste  valve  for 
such  overflow — both  objectionable  for 
p|        well-known     reasons — are    required. 
JL  Hi        ^  waste  valves  for  bath-tubs,  there 
are  a  large  number,  but  only  a  few  of 
these  will  be  illustrated. 

Fig.  224  shows  the  Boston  waste 
valve,  which  consists  of  a  ground  cock, 
tnor?'SinCand  with  large  water  way  to  allow  a  quick 
Plug*  emptying  of  the  tub.  It  is  similar 

in  construction  to  the  Boston  valve  for  basins. 


FIG.  224.— Boston  Waste  Cook.     FIG.  225.— Foley'a  Waste  Valve. 

Fig.  225  illustrates  a  bath-tub,  fitted  up  with 
Foley's  waste  valve,  which  dispenses  with  a  special 
overflow  pipe. 

The  same  is  true  of  McFarland's  waste,  which  is 
shown  in  Fig.  226.  Weaver's  waste  for  bath-tubs 


222 


(see  Fig.  227)  is  similar  in  construction  to  his  basin- 
waste,  and  needs  no  further  explanation. 


FIG.  337- Weaver' s  Waste 
for  Bath-Tubs. 


FIG.  226.  —  McFarland's 
Waste. 


The  comments  made  above  in  regard  to  basin 
wastes,  are  also  more  or  less- 
true  of  these  wastes. 

I  decidedly  prefer  the  ar- 

Imsta  rangement  known  as  a  stand- 

ing waste,  and  used  exten- 
sively in  Boston.  (See  Fig. 
228.)  It  does  away  with 
the  chain  and  plug,  the 
waste  cock  and  the  overflow 
pipe,  and  is  most  cleanly 
and  simple  in  operation. 

The  bath-tub,  if   copper- 
lined,  can  easily  be  arranged 
with  a  recess  at  the  foot  of 
FIG.  228-Stauding  Overflow,  the   tub   for    the    standing 


223 


waste,  similar  to  the  one  proposed  in  Fig.  208,  for 
pantry  sinks. 

As  regards  the  trapping  of  the  bath  waste,  the 
remarks  made  for  wash-bowls  have  reference  to 
bath-tubs  as  well. 

House-maids'  sinks  are  neatest  if  made  of  earth- 
enware ;  the  same  is  true  of  slop  sinks,  which  are 
often  fitted  up  in  dwellings  to  empty  chamber 
slops.  The  latter  kind  of  sink  is  generally  much 
deeper  than  the  ordinary  sink,  or  else  it  is  shaped 
like  a  hopper,  with  a  flat  square  sink  on  top,  pro- 
vided with  a  flushing  rim.  (Fig.  229.)  The 


FIG.  229.— Flushing  Rim  Slop-hopper  in  Section. 

surface  of  such  hopper  or  sink  is  exposed  to  foul- 
ing the  better,  therefore  the  top  should  be  kept  of 
moderate  size  and  not  unnecessarily  enlarged.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  these  sinks  and  slop- 


224 

fooppers  should  be  flushed  out  after  use,  and  to  do 
this  efficiently  I  always  recommend  to  fix  over  the 
sink,  or  hopper,  a  small  water  cistern,  either  a 
valve  or  else  a  siphon  cistern,  operated  in  each 
case  by  a  chain  and  pull.  The  outlet  of  such  sinks, 
or  hoppers,  should  be  protected  by  strong  strainers 
or  baskets  to  prevent  the  throwing  in  of  objec- 
tionable solid  articles,  such  as  brushes,  rags,  etc., 
which  would  probably  remain  in  the  trap  or  choke 
the  waste  pipe.  The  trap  used,  if  an  S-trap,  must 
be  efficiently  protected  by  a  very  large  branch  air 
pipe  taken  from  the  crown  of  the  trap,  for,  if  a 
pail  of  slops  is  suddenly  poured  into  a  slop-hopper, 
the  trap  would  otherwise  lose  its  water  seal  by 
^iphonage. 

Urinals  should  not  be  fitted  up  in  private  houses. 
It  is  a  most  difficult  matter  to  keep  them  clean  and 
neat.  Water-closets  should  be  fixed  with  as  little 
wood  work  as  possible  (see  Figs.  251  to  255),  and 
then  they  may  be  used  as  urinals.  The  latter  are 
necessary  only  in  public  buildings,  public  places, 
and  in  office  buildings.  The  neatest  fixture  for  such 
use  is  the  porcelain-lipped  "  Bedfordshire  "  urinal. 

There  is  now  for  sale  a  pattern  in  which  the  basin 
is  so  shaped  as  to  hold  a  certain  quantity  of  water. 
(See  Fig.  230.)  This  type  of  urinal  is  preferable  to 
the  old-fashioned  style,  as  an  immediate  dilution 
of  the  urine  takes  place.  Urinals  in  office  or  public 
buildings  should  always  be  flushed  from  a  special 
tank,  which  may  be  either  a  siphon  or  valve  cistern, 
operated  by  hand,  or  by  treadle  or  door  action,  or 
it  may  be  one  of  the  many  automatic  flush  tanks, 
(See  Fig.  230a  and  b).  To  flush  the  urinals  from 


225 


PIG.  230.— Urinal,  with  Basin  to  hold  water. 


FiG.   330a.— Field's  Automatic      FIG.  230b.— McFarland's  Auto- 
Siphon  Tank.  matic  Tilting  Tank. 


226 

a  small  branch  pipe  and  a  self-closing  bibb,  to  be- 
opened  by  the  person  using  the  urinal,  is  objection- 
able in  all  cases,  and  absolutely  inadmissible  in 
the  best  kind  of  work.  A  flushing  tank,  operated 
by  chain  and  pull,  may  be  used  for  toilet-rooms 
of  private  offices,  where  intelligent  attention  to  the 
required  flushing  may  be  expected  ;  in  all  other 
cases,  an  automatic  supply  is  preferable. 

The  waste  from  a  single  urinal  need  not  be 
larger  than  1^  inches  ;  for  a  row  of  urinals  a  2' 
pipe  may  be  required.  The  trap  should,  in  any 
case,  be  as  small  as  possible — about  1J" — so  as  to 
have  its  contents  thoroughly  changed  at  each  flush. 
Where  urinals  are  flushe.d  automatically  and  are  in 
constant  use,  an  S-trap,  properly  vented,  can  be 
used  without  danger. 

We  must  lastly  consider  the  most  important 
plumbing  fixture  of  the  dwelling — the  water-closet. 
A  proper  and  satisfactory  selection  of  this  fixture 
is  rendered  very  difficult  on  account  of  the  large 
number  of  water-closets  now  for  sale.  Wherever 
advice  is  sought  by  prudent  householders  on  "sani- 
tary drainage,"  no  question  is  probably  put  as  often 
as  this  :  Which  is  the  best  water-closet  f  or  What 
water-closet  would  you  recommend  me  to  use  f 

Without  going  into  a  detailed  description  of  the 
various  water-closets  in  use,  the  author  will  en- 
deavor briefly  to  answer  this  question.  Generally 
speaking,  water-closets  may  be  divided  into  two 
distinct  classes  : 

1,  those  with  mechanical  parts  or  movable  ma- 
chinery— the  pan-closet,  the  valve-closet,  and 
the  plunger-closet. 


227 

2,  those  without  any  movable  machinery — the 
hopper  closet  and  the  washout-closet.* 

The  pan-closet  (Figs.  2  and  4)  was  described 
and  condemned  in  Chapter  II.,  page  13  ;  the  valve- 
closet  and  the  plunger-closet  were  illustrated  in 
Fig.  12  and  Fig.  13,  and  their  defects  pointed 
out. 

The  author's  experience  has  led  him  to  advise  in 
every  case  against  closets  with  movable  parts,  as 
being  complicated,  easily  deranged,  and  readily 
fouled.  While  admitting  that  some  of  the  closets 
of  this  description  are  of  first-class  make,  the 
writer  has  never  considered  them  fit  for  use  for 
sanitary  reasons. 

Closets  of  the  second  class  only  should  be  used 
in  sanitary  homes.  With  these,  all  the  machinery 
is  located  in  the  flushing  cistern,  fixed  at  a  proper 
height  above  the  water-closet  bowl.  The  water- 
closet  itself  is  merely  a  plain  bowl — of  earthen- 
ware in  first-class  dwellings — with  a  flushing  rim 
on  top  of  the  bowl,  to  which  the  water  is  brought 
by  a  supply  pipe  of  large  diameter. 

Hopper-closets  may  be  subdivided  in  long  and 
short  hoppers.  The  former  have  a  trap  (of  iron  or 
lead)  below  the  floor  (Fig.  231),  while  the  short 


*  For  a  detailed  description  of  water-closets,  the  reader  ia  re- 
ferred to  Prof.  T.  M.  Clark's  Articles  on  "Modem  Plumbing"  in 
the  American  Architect ;  Prof.  T.  M.  Clark's  Book  on  M  Building 
Superintendence ; "  Mr.  Glenn  Brown's  Articles  on  "  Water- 
Closets,"  in  the  American  Architect ;  Papers  on  **  Sanitary  Plumb- 
ing," in  the  American  Architect:  W.  P.  Gerhard's  Paper  on 
"House  Drainage  and  Sanitary  Plumbing  "  in  the  Fourth  Annual 
Report  of  the  R.I.  State  Board  of  Health;  W.  P.  Gerhard, 
House  Drainage  and  Sanitary  Plumbing,  2d  edition,  published 
by  D.  Van  Nostrand,  1884. 


228 


FiO.  331.— Long  Flushing  Rim  Hopper. 

hoppers  have  the  trap  (of   iron  or  earthenware) 
above   the   floor  (Fig.   232).     The  latter  are  pre- 


FIG.  332.— Short  Flushing  Rim  Hopper. 


ferable,  for  the  surface  exposed  to  fouling  is  much 
smaller  than  with  long  hoppers  ;   the  trap  is  in> 


229 

sight,  which  is  a  great  advantage  ;  finally  the  level: 
of  the  water  (in  the  trap)  is  nearer  to  the  seat 

The  ideal  water-closet,  however,  has  yet  to  be 
invented,  and — as  in  so  many  other  matters — we 
must  content  ourselves  with  the  best  approxima- 
tion to  the  perfect  apparatus. 

Unless  fitted  up  with  skillful  judgment,  hopper- 
closets,  both  short  and  long,  are  apt  to  cause  dis- 
satisfaction through  an  occasional  fouling  of  the 
bowl.  Without  a  properly  arranged  system  of 
flushing,  they  are  apt  to  become  extremely  nasty 
and  foul,  especially  so  in  water-closet  apartments 
of  public  buildings  of  any  kind.  To  prevent  this, 
the  water  supply  should  be  ample,  the  amount  for 
each  flush  should  be  discharged  rapidly  through  a 
large  supply  pipe  into  the  flushing  rim,  and  the  pre- 
caution must  be  observed  to  give  the  closet  at  each 
use  a  preliminary  wash,  to  moisten  the  sides  of 
the  bowl — and  an  after-wash,  to  thoroughly  rinse 
the  closet  and  expel  the  soil  from  the  trap. 

To  secure  to  such  plain  closets  without  mechani- 
cal apparatus,  the  advantages  which  the  valve  and 
plunger-closets  have  of  holding  a  large  surface  of 
water  in  the  bowl,  a  modified  form  was  adopted, 
which  the  writer  has  called  a  washout-closet,  while 
other  writers  call  it  an  improved  hopper-closet. 

Washout-closets  may  be  subdivided  into  : 

1,  those   having   a  bowl   shaped  so  as  to  hold 
water  (generally  not  more  than  1 J  inches  in  depth) " 
and  having  under  the  bowl,  generally  in  one  piece 
with  it,  a  siphon  trap  (Fig.  233). 

2,  those  in  which  the  basin  itself  is  shaped  so 
as  to  make  a  water-seal  trap,  and  holds  water  to  a 


230 


FIG.  233.— Washout-Closet,  with  water  in  basin  and  trap  below 
basin. 


Pro.  234.  —  Washout-Closet,   with   basin    holding   water,    and 
shaped  so  as  to  form  a  seal. 


Fro.  235.— Author's  Suggestion  for  Improved  Short  Hopper- 
Cloaot. 


231 


greater    depth  than  those  first  mentioned    (Figs. 
234  and  235). 

Against  the  first-mentioned  closet  the  criticism 
may  be  raised  that  the  force  of  the  flush  is  largely 
exhausted  in  cleansing  the  basin,  after  which  the 
water,  soil  and  paper,  drop  into  the  trap,  which  is 
not  exposed  to  view  as  with  other  closets. 


FIGS.  236a  and  b.— Author's  Suggestion  for  Improving  Washout 
Closet. 

There  is,  consequently,  chance  of  foul  matter 
lodging  in  the  trap,  to  give  off  offensive  gases. 
There  is  also  some  danger  of  foul  matter  accumulat- 
ing in  the  vertical  shaft  between  the  bowl  and  the 
trap.  The  evil  may,  perhaps,  be  remedied  by 
shaping  the  top  of  the  bowl  and  its  flushing  rim 
as  indicated  in  Figs.  236a  and  b. 


232 

The  other  closets,  in  which  the  basin  itself  forms 
a  trap  against  gases,  are  preferable.  They  much 
resemble  in  principle  the  short  hopper,  having  the 
advantage  of  being  made  in  one  piece  of  earthen- 
ware, of  holding  more  depth  of  water  in  the  bowl, 
and  of  having  a  larger  surface  of  water.  These 
closets,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  approach  the  ideal 
closet  more  closely  than  any  other  kind.  One 
difficulty  has  yet  been  but  partially  overcome  with 
most  of  them,  namely,  the  proper  flushing  and 
cleansing  of  the  basin,  especially  the  proper  dis- 
charge of  soil  and  paper.  Ingenious  siphon  ar- 
rangements and  water  jets  have  been  invented  to 
effect  this  purpose.  It  is  quite  possible,  however, 
that  a  simple  discharge  of  water  from  a  cistern 
through  a  good  flushing  rim  or  a  series  of  fan- 
washers,  arranged  on  the  top  of  the  bowl,  will 
suflice  to  expel  all  matters  from  the  basin,  if  the 
latter  is  of  proper  size  and  shape.  (See  Fig. 
235.) 

The  illustrations  (Figs.  2,  12,  13,  231,  232,  233 
and  234)  show  all  the  types  of  water-closets  now  in 
the  market.  There  is  a  striking  contrast,  as  regards 
simplicity  of  construction,  between  the  pan,  valve 
and  .plunger-closets  on  the  one  side,  and  the  hopper 
and  washout-closets  on  the  other.  Any  of  the 
closets  of  the  latter  class,  if  bought  from  a  re- 
sponsible, first-class  manufacturing  firm,  is  likely 
to  give  satisfaction,  provided  the  closet  is  well 
taken  care  of,  for  even  the  best  kind  will  need  re- 
peated cleaning,  washing  and  scrubbing.  The 
latter  operations  will  be  much  facilitated  by  a 
proper  arrangement  of  the  closet,  and  here  again 


233 

the  plain  earthen  hoppers,  and  washout-closets,  are 
vastly  superior  to  mechanical  closets. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  what  the  Report  of  the 
General  Board  of  Health  of  England,  made  in 
1852,  says  about  the  principles  of  the  construction 
of  the  water-closets. 

"  It  is  now  necessary  to  revert  to  the  construction  of 
the  chief  apparatus  for  the  decent  and  efficient  sanitary 
arrangement  of  every  household,  an  apparatus  to  which 
but  little  attention  is  usually  paid,  but  which  requires 
the  most  serious  consideration,  as  one  of  the  primary 
works  for  the  sanitary  improvement  of  houses  and 
towns,  namely,  the  water-closet. 

The  particular  points  to  be  sought  for  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  apparatus  in  question,  appear  to  be  : 

1.  A  scour  for  the  complete  removal  of  the  soil. 

2.  The  best  trap  against  the  ingress  or  regurgitation 

of  effluvia  from  the  general  system  of  drainage 
and  sewerage  with  which  each  soil-pan  or  house- 
sink  must  communicate. 

3.  The  consumption  of  the  least  quantity  of  water  for 

a  complete  scour  and  perfect  trap. 

4.  Durability,  or  freedom  from  the  liability  of— 

a.  Breakage  in  consequence  of  frost. 
6.  Derangement  of  the  machinery. 

c.  Breakage  by  careless  usage. 

d.  Stoppages. 

5.  Easy  repair. 

6.  Cheapness  when  manufactured  on  a  large  scale." 

The  report,  further  on,  condemns  the  pan- 
closet,  and  recommends  simple  hopper-closets,  pre- 
ferably short  hoppers,  and  a  modified  form  of  hop- 
per, such  as  shown  in  Figs.  237  and  238.  It  is  a 
somewhat  remarkable  fact,  that  notwithstanding 
such  a  severe  but  just  condemnation  of  the  pan- 


234 


closet  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  it  should  still  be 
found  in  most  dwelling-houses  of  to-day. 


FIGS.  237  and  238.— Closet  Forma  recommended  in  1852  by  the 
General  Board  of  Health  of  England. 


General  Arrangement  and  Care  of  Fixtures. 

Having  described  the  quality  and  character  of 
fixtures  to  be  used,  we  must  next  speak  about  their 
general  arrangement.  We  have  repeatedly  stated 
that  it  is  highly  desirable  to  have  everything  rela- 
ting to  plumbing  in  plain  sight.  Traps  concealed 
under  floors  should  be  abolished  ;  soil  and  vent 
pipes  buried  in  walls  or  partitions,  fixtures  encased 
in  tight  carpentry,  and  supply  pipes  with  stop- 
cocks that  cannot  be  immediately  reached  when 
necessary,  are  highly  objectionable. 


235 

There  is  a  certain  prejudice  against  having 
plumbing  appliances  left  without  any  casing  or 
covering,  especially  on  the  part  of  women,  but  we 
must  gradually  educate  our  good  house-wives  in 
these  matters,  and  we  venture  to  say  that  if  the 
objections  against  the  old  methods  would  be  prop- 
erly explained  to  them,  very  few  only  would  object 
to  the  advice  of  sanitarians,  to  have  every  fixture 
open  and  accessible.  If  all  women  would  be  as 
practical  and  exhibit  as  much  good  sense  as  Jill  in 
Mr.  E.  C.  Gardner's  charming  book,  "The  House 
that  Jill  Built",  sanitary  inspections  would  soon  be 
rendered  unnecessary,  and  the  annual  plumbers' 
bills  for  repairs  would  become  a  thing  of  the  past. 

"  I  wish  it  were  possible,"  said  she,  "  to  build  a  house 
with  everything  in  plain  sight,  the  chimneys,  the  hot- 
air  pipes  from  the  furnace,  if  there  are  any,  the  steam 
pipes,  the  ventilators,  the  gas  pipes,  the  water  pipes,  the 
speaking  tubes,  the  cranks  and  wires  for  the  bells — 
whatever  really  belongs  to  the  building.  They  might 
all  be  decorated  if  that  would  make  them  more  inter- 
esting, but  even  if  they  were  quite  unadorned  they 
ought  not  to  be  ugly.  If  we  could  see  them  we  shouldn't 
feel  that  we  are  surrounded  by  hidden  mysteries  liable 
at  any  time  to  explode  or  break  loose  upon  us  unawares. 
Those  things  that  get  out  of  order  easily  ought  surely 
to  be  accessible.  I  don't  believe  there  would  have  been 
half  the  trouble  with  plumbing,  either  in  the  way  of 
danger  to  health  or  from  dishonest  and  ignorant  work, 
if  it  had  not  been  the  custom  to  keep  it  as  much  as  pos- 
sible out  of  sight.  There  is  a  great  satisfaction,  too,  in 
knowing  that  everything  is  genuine." 

The  following  advice  of  a  physician  in  "  The 
House  and  its  Surroundings,"  is  equally  well  to  the 
point : 


236 

"As  to  the  pipes  above  the  basement,  you  should  in- 
sist upon  having  them  all,  within  as  well  as  without  the 
house,  as  accessible  as  possible.  Plumbers,  as  the  late 
Dr.  Parkes  remarks,  *  try  to  conceal  everything,'  and,  in 
consequence  of  this  principle,  when  any  accident  oc- 
curs, the  house  is  pulled  about  and  the  walls  and  wood- 
work damaged  to  a  great  extent,  because  no  one  knows 
or  can  get  at  the  exact  direction  of  the  offending  pipe. 
Therefore,  all  these  pipes,  including  their  inlets  and 
outlets,  should  be  visible,  or,  if  enclosed  at  all,  should 
be  cased  in  with  wooden  coverings,  lightly  screwed  to- 
gether, and  not,  as  is  usually  the  case,  imbedded  in 
plaster  or  cement,  or  otherwise  fixed  securely  into  the 
main  or  other  walls  of  the  building." 

The  following  quotation  from  the  well-known 
English  architect,  Ernest  Turner,  referring  to  ser- 
vice pipes,  might  be  applied  in  general  to  plumb- 
ing-work. He  says: 

"Service  pipes  are  commonly  kept  carefully  out  of 
sight.  This  is  an  excellent  arrangement — for  the  plum- 
ber— who  is  thus  enabled  to  conceal  any  amount  of 
scamped  work.  For  the  owner,  its  drawbacks  are  three, 
at  least. 

1.  It  makes  defects  or  accidents  more  difficult  of  de- 
tection. 

2.  It  makes  them  more  mischievous  in  action. 

3.  It  makes  them  more  costly  in  correction. 

No  pipes  above  ground,  as  was  said  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  should  be  hidden  behind  anything  but  a  hinged 
casing." 

There  should  be  as  little  as  possible  wood-work 
around  plumbing  fixtures,  and  this  will  not  at  all 
detract  from  the  appearance  of  such  work,  pro- 
vided the  work  itself  is  properly  done  and  well 
finished.  If  the  space  under  and  around  bowls, 
sinks,  tubs  and  water-closets  is  kept  entirely  open,. 


237 

cleaning  operations  are  much  facilitated,  and  every- 
thing is  readily  inspected  at  any  time,  without  the 
necessity  of  using  tools  to  remove  boards  or 
casings.  An  open  arrangement  of  fixtures  is 
equally  well  adapted  to  offices,  small  dwellings,  or 
the  most  luxurious  residences.  Fancy  and  orna- 


Fio.  239.— Iron  Kitchen  Sink,  supported  on  brackets. 

mental  casings  of  woodwork  have  hitherto  been 
considered  indispensable  for  finishing  bath-rooms. 
The  mistaken  notion  of  judging  the  quality  of  a 
job  of  plumbing  by  the  costliness  of  the  marble 
slabs,  the  silver-plating  of  the  faucets,  the  decora- 
ting and  gilding  of  basin  and  water-closet  bowls, 
the  expensive  hard  wood  finish,  has  gradually  and 


238 


slowly  given  way  to  a  better  appreciation  for  fix- 
tures properly  trapped,  amply  ventilated,  and  well 
flushed. 

The  following  remarks  and  sketches  are  chiefly 
intended  to  explain  a  proper  and  sanitary  method 
of  fitting  up  modern  conveniences  : 


FIG.  240.— Earthenware  Kitchen  Sink,  supported  in  a  frame, 
resting  on  decorated  legs. 

Kitchen  sinks  may  be  supported  on  brackets, 
securely  fastened  into  the  walls,  or  else  they  may 
rest  on  legs  on  the  floor.  Fig.  239  shows  the 
former  arrangement  for  an  iron  sink,  with  iron 
back,  while  Fig.  240  shows  the  latter,  for  an 
earthenware  or  "  Imperial "  sink,  the  illustration 


239 

Toeing  taken  from  the  circular  of  the  J.  L.  Mott 
Iron  Works,  of  New  York.  If  not  objectionable 
on  account  of  expense,  the  supply  and  waste  pipes, 
and  the  trap,  may  be  of  brass,  finished  or  nickel- 
plated,  but  a  plain,  neat  job  of  lead  piping  will 
answer  very  well. 

The  illustration  (Fig.  240)  shows  a  sink,  import- 
ed by  the  above  firm  from  England,  supported  on 
graceful  galvanized  or  bronzed  legs,  with  a  hand- 
some frame  on  top  of  the  sink,  and  a  marble  back. 


FIG.  341.— Open  Arrangement  of  Pantry  Sink,  with  Draining 
Shelf. 

The  neatest  arrangement  is  to  have  the  floor 
Under  the  sink — or  else  the  entire  kitchen  floor — 
laid  with  tiles,  which  may  also  be  carried  up  along 
the  wall  behind  the  sink.  The  sink  should  always 


240 

be  fitted  with  a  high  back  of  iron,  glass  or  marble,, 
to  prevent  defacing  the  rear  wall  by  splashing. 

A  pantry  sink  may  be  fitted  up  in  a  similar 
manner,  with  draining  shelf  and  drawers  at  one 
side,  but  all  open  directly  under  the  sink,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  241. 


FiG.  242a.— Slop  Sink,  with  Flushing  Cistern. 

House-maid's  sinks  should  be  treated  in  the  same 
way,  but  still  more  important  is  such  a  plain  ar- 
rangement for  slop  sinks,  which  otherwise  are 


241 


liable  to  get  very  foul  and  offensive.  Fig.  242a- 
shows  a  slop  hopper  fitted  up  with  frame  and  mar- 
ble back,  and  a  flushing  cistern  overhead,  as  sold 
by  the  J.  L.  Mott  Iron  Works.  It  would  be  pre- 
ferable to  have  no  wood  work  at  all  around  a  slop 
hopper,  everything  being  in  plain  sight,  open  to 


FIG.  243.— Slop  Hopper,  set  on  a  tiled  floor. 

inspection,  accessible  for  cleaning  and  scrubbing. 
(See  Fig,  242b.)  Fig.  243  shows  such  a  slop  hop- 
per, as  sold  by  The  Meyer.  Sniffen  Co.,  of  New- 
York. 

Slop  sinks  and  hoppers  should  stand  in  a  well- 
lighted  and  ventilated  closet,  or  else,  where  the 
bath-room  is  of  ample  dimensions,  in  the  bath- 


242 

room.      Never  should  they  be  placed  in  a  dark 
closet. 


FIG.  S42b. — Slop  Hopper  Sink,  without  wood-work. 

Laundry  tubs  should  also  be  set  on  legs  and  be 
left  open  under  the  tubs,  leaving  the  waste  pipe 
and  trap  in  full  sight.  Fig.  244  shows  the  beauti- 


FiG.  244,-Laundry  Tubs,  set  on  legs. 

f  ul  porcelain  washtubs,  sold  by  the  J.  L.  Mott  Iron 
Works,  set  on  ornamental  legs,  with  a  top  frame  of 


243 


hard  wood  and  a  back,  which  may  be  of  marble, 
through  which  the  faucets  for  hot  and  cold  water 
pass.  Tiling  for  the  floor  of  the  laundry  adds  to 
its  beauty  and  cleanly  appearance. 


FIG.  345.— Open  Arrangement  for  Wash-basins ;  slab  supported 
on  brackets. 

The  same  principles  should  be  applied  to  sta- 
tionary wash  basins.  In  place  of  the  usual  cabinet 
work,  let  the  marble  slab  be  supported  on  orna- 
mental iron  or  brass  brackets,  fastened  to  the  walls 
(see  Fig  245),  or  else  use  a  pair  of  marble  sup- 


244 


ports,  or  a  handsome  frame,  on  which  the  slab  rests, 
supported  by  bronzed  or  otherwise  decorated  iron 
or  wooden  turned  legs.  (See  Fig.  246.)  If  de- 


FIG.  246.— Open  Arrangement  for  Wash-basins ;  slab  supported 
on  a  frame  resting  on  turned  legs. 

sired,  the  trap  may  be  of  brass,  finished  or  nickel- 
plated,  and  the  supply  and  waste  pipes  may  be 
similar.  Even  where  householders  would  object 
to  keeping  the  pipes  and  traps  in  sight,  it  is  possi- 
ble to  arrange  a  lavatory  without  the  usual  tight 
-cabinet-work,  as  shown  in  sketch.  Fig.  247.  The 


245 


space  under  the  slab  and  bowl,  which  latter  is  of  the 
tip-up  type,  is  left  entirely  open,  and  the  pipes  are 
concealed  behind  a  movable  panel  near  the  rear 
wall.  With  a  hardwood  floor,  such  lavatory  is 
certainly  more  cleanly  and  inviting  in  appearance 
than  the  usual  apparatus.  Where  it  is  desired  to 

i 


FIG.  247.— Open  Cabinet-work  for  a  Lavatory, 
leave  all  plumbing  in  sight,  and  where  means  are 
moderate,  a  handsome  job  of  lead  piping,  well- 
shaped  wiped  joints,  etc.,  are  not  at  all  objectiona- 
ble. Says  Mr.  Jas.  C.  Bayles,  in  describing  his 
ideal  house,  No.  26  Daydream  avenue  : 

"  None  of  my  fixtures  are  boxed  in.  I  prefer  to  have 
everything  open  and  not  to  make  little  closets  under  the 
fixtures.  To  my  mind  there  is  nothing  unsightly  about 


246 


neat  pipes  with  cleanly  wiped  joints.  I  like  to  look  cot 
them  when  everything  is  as  it  should  be.  Besides,  I 
know  that  these  little  closets  are  nothing  but  poke-holes 
for  old  shoes,  dirty  cloths,  musty  wooden  pails,  and 
other  bric-a-brac  which  properly  belong  in  the  ash- 
barrel.  The  only  way  to  prevent  such  accumulations  is 
to  have  no  place  where  they  can  accumulate.  I  let  the 
plumbers  who  did  any  work  know  that  nothing  was  to 
be  covered,  and  that  all  the  woodwork  I  should  have 
about  the  basins  and  closets  was  just  what  was  needed  to 
hold  up  the  slabs  and  seats.  They  could  not  understand 
why  I  fancied  such  an  arrangement,  but  finding  that  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  do  as  I  said,  they  did  their 
work  with  extra  neatness,  and  when  they  had  it  finished 
I  believe  it  gave  them  a  positive  pleasure  to  look  at  it. 
I  forgot  to  mention  that  some  of  my  pipes  are  run  in- 
side the  walls  or  partitions.  ...  I  like  to  take  a 
look  at  my  pipes  occasionally." 


FIG.  248.— Hip-bath  standing  on  the  floor. 


247 

To  set  bathtubs  of  all  kinds  in  an  open  manner, 
is  quite  customary  in  Europe,  with  the  heavy  copper 
tubs  usually  adopted. 

Fig.  248  illustrates  a  handsome  but  expensive 
hip-bath,  imported  by  The  Meyer,  Sniff  en  Co.,  and 
fitted  without  any  woodwork  whatever,  all  valves 
and  pipes  being  in  plain  sight.  The  American 
copper-lined  tubs  require,  of  course,  some  exterior 
finish  in  woodwork.  But  enamelled  iron  bathtubs, 
and  those  of  earthenware  ("  Imperial "  and  "  Royal " 
porcelain  tubs)  can  dispense  with  woodwork. 

Fig.   249  shows  Mott's  iron  enamelled  tub  set 


FIG.  249.-Bathtub  standing  on  legs,  free  on  floor,  with  pipes 
exposed  to  view. 

free  on  legs,  and  Fig.  255  shows  an  earthen  tub- 
without  woodwork. 

For  no  other  fixture,  however,  is  such  an  open 
arrangement  as  important  as  for  water  closets. 
These  should  have  no  other  woodwork  but  the 
seat ;  a  riser  can  always  be  dispensed  with.  Even 
closets  with  machinery,  consisting  of  an  iron  body 
and  earthen  bowl,  have  nothing  objectionable  in 
appearance  if  fitted  up  in  this  manner  (see  Fio- 
250). 


248 

The  best  closets — all  earthenware  bowls  with- 
out any  marble  parts — look  most  handsome  if  set 
on  a  floor  of  white  tiles,  the  back  and  sides  of  the 
closet  being  similarly  tiled,  and  of  ten  having  a  dado 
of  ornamental  or  colored  tiles.  In  this  case,  the 


FIG.  250.— Arrangement   of  cabinet  work  for  a  closet  with 
movable  parts  (Hygieia  closet). 

seat  should  only  be  a  board  of  ash,  oak  or  mahog- 
any, well  finished  and  polished,  hinged  at  one  end 
or  at  the  back,  and  turned  up  when  not  in  use  (see 
Fig.  251  and  Fig.  255).  There  is  no  necessity  for 
any  further  cover,  and  arranged  in  this  way,  hop- 
per or  washout  water  closets  may  well  take  the 
place  of  slopsinks  and  urinals. 


249 


PIG.  251.— Brighton  water  closet  seat. 

In  regard  to  this,  we  find  in  a  recent  volume, 
"  Our  Homes,  and  How  to  Make  Them  Healthy," 
the  following  advice  : 

"  Another  point  deserving  of  consideration  by  every 
one  about  to  fix  a  new  water  closet  apparatus,  is  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  seat  and  the  enclosure  of  the  appara- 
tus. The  apparatus  is  usually  fixed  and  enclosed,  so 
that  in  course  of  time  a  vast  amount  of  dust  and  dirt 
accumulates  beneath  the  seat,  or,  indeed,  may  have  been 
left  there  by  the  workmen  when  the  closet  was  built; 


250 


and  where  the  closet  is  used  for  emptying  slops  of  any- 
kind,  it  commonly  happens  that  small  quantities  of 
liquid  are  allowed  to  splash  on  the  top  of  the  basin — not 
sufficient,  perhaps,  to  run  away,  but  to  keep  a  certain 
amount  of  permanent  dampness  on  the  floor  of  the  space 
beneath  the  seat,  and  to  give  to  the  entire  closet  a  con- 
stant smell.  It  would  go  far  to  promote  cleanliness  and 
prevent  this  smell  if  the  seat  enclosure  were  wholly  dis- 
pensed with,  and  the  floor,  with  its  carpet,  *  or  oilcloth, 
were  continued  entirely  under  the  seat.  In  the  case  of 
all  the  best  kinds  of  closet  apparatus,  comprising  merely 
a  basin  with  siphon  trap  beneath — all  in  one  piece  of 
glazed  stoneware — there  would  be  no  eyesore  in  such  an 
arrangement,  while  every  nook  and  corner  would  be 
visible,  and  subject  to  the  frequent  application  of  the 
broom  and  duster." 


FIG.  352.— Earthen  Hopper,  with  wooden  rim. 

Fig.  252  shows  the  simplest  possible  method  of 
fitting  up  a  closet  with  seat.  A  well-finished  hard- 
wood rim  is  placed  and  fastened  on  top  of  the 
hopper,  and  the  latter  may  be  set  on  a  tiled  floor 


*  A  carpet  should  not  be  recommended.— W.  P.  G. 


251 


•or  on  a  slab  of  best  quality  slate.  This  arrange- 
ment is  especially  adapted  to  work-shops,  factories, 
railroad  stations,  hospitals,  etc. 

Fig.  253  illustrates  a  well-known  hopper  closet 
(Rhoad's)  made  of  earthen- 
ware, the  top  being  shaped 
so  as  to  serve  as  a  seat, 
thereby  dispensing  entirely 
with  any  wood-work,  which 
is  always  more  or  less  ab- 
sorbent and  becomes  in  time 
saturated  with  urine  and 
perspiration  from  the  body. 
If  this  hopper  stands  in  a 
well-heated  apartment,  it 
has  much  to  recommend  it, 

FIG.  253.— Porcelain  Seated  especially  for  hospitals.      If 
Hopper. 

placed  in  a  room  not  well 

warmed  in  winter  time,  the  closet  is  liable  to  be- 
come filthy  through  improper  use. 

In  contrast  with  the  two  closet  seats  just  de- 
scribed, Fig.  254  (taken  from  the  J.  L.  Mott  Iron 
Works'  Catalogue  of  Improved  Water-Closets) 
illustrates  an  elegant  and  ornamental  seat,  sup- 
ported on  bronzed,  galvanized  or  gilt  iron  legs. 
The  seat  is  further  fitted  with  a  porcelain  drip 
tray  placed  just  on  top  of  the  bowl,  which  allows 
the  closet  to  be  used  as  a  urinal  or  slop  sink.  The 
hard-wood  seat  fits  closely  over  the  porcelain  safe. 
As  the  appearance  of  the  hole  in  the  seat  is  to 
many  still  objectionable,  there  is  a  handsome  cover, 
but  riser  and  side  pieces  are  dispensed  with,  ex- 
hibiting freely  the  cleanly  tiled  floor  and  walls. 


252 

Fig.  255  is  a  sketch,  illustrating  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  a  bath-room,  arranged  according  to 
the  principles  given.  As  shown  in  the  illustration, 
the  entire  floor  is  made  water-tight,  and  finished 
with  tiling  laid  in  concrete.  The  floor  directly 
under  all  fixtures  is  somewhat  lower  than  the  floor 
in  the  centre  of  the  bathroom,  and  both  are  joined 


FIG.  264.— Mott's  Earthen  Hopper,  with  cabinet-work,  leaving 
all  parts  of  closet  exposed. 

by  an  easy  slope,  which  is  shown  in  the  sketch. 
Any  drippings  or  spatterings  on  the  main  floor  will 
run  down  the  slope  to  the  lower  floor.  This  latter 
takes  the  place  of  the  usual  safes  under  fixtures, 
and  has  a  pitch  from  all  sides  to  one  point  (at  the 
left  of  the  bath),  at  which  is  arranged  a  drip  pipe,, 
covered  with  a  plated  strainer,  running  vertically 


253 

down   to   a  sink   in   the  basement,  over  which  it 
discharges. 

The  fixtures  shown  have  little  or  no  woodwork 
about  them,  the  lavatory  being  supported  on  ar- 
tistic brass  or  bronzed  brackets ;  the  closet,  a 


FlG.  255.— Sketch  of  a  Bath-room,  fitted  up  in  an  open  manner. 
With  tiled  floor. 

porcelain  basin  or  hopper  standing  free  on  the 
floor,  has  only  a  hardwood  seat,  turned  up  against 
the  wall,  if  the  closet  is  not  in  use  ;  the  seat  rests, 
if  turned  down,  on  two  cleats,  supported  by 


254 


bronzed  or  brass  legs.  The  bath-tub  of  earthen- 
ware stands  on  short  legs,  the  whole  space  under 
the  tub  being  free  of  access.  All  supply  and  waste 
pipes  are  in  plain  sight.  The  bath-room  has  a 
large  window,  opening  to  the  outer  air,  and  proper 
provision  is  made  for  ventilation  in  winter  time  by 
means  of  a  foul  air  exit  flue.  To  secure  comfort  in 
winter  time,  the  bath-room  is  heated  by  indirect 
radiation  (by  means  of  steam  or  hot  water  coils -in 
the  basement),  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  pure  air, 
moderately  heated,  introduced  through  a  register 
in  one  of  the  walls  (not  shown  in  the  drawing). 


^^^Z?^ 


FIG.  256.— Arrangement  of   Bath-room   and  Water-closet  for 
City  House. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  this  bath-room 
with  the  one  shown  in  Fig.  1,  which  represents  the 
usual  manner  of  arranging  the  lavatory,  closet  and 
bath-tub  in  city  houses,  to  understand  at  once  the 
great  advantages  of  such  open  arrangement. 

Bath-rooms  should,  wherever  possible,  be  located 
near  an  outside  wall,  with  windows  affording 
ample  light  and  ventilation.  If  they  must  be  lo- 


255 


<jated  in  the  center  of  the  house,  special  ventila- 
tion of  the  apartment  must  be  provided.  In  regard 
to  this  matter  we  must  refer  our  readers  to  treatises 
on  "Ventilation."* 


FIG.  257.— Arrangement  of  Bath-room  and  Water-Closet  for 
Country  Houses. 

Speaking  of  the  arrangement  of  bath-rooms,  I 
wish  to  state  that  the  American  custom  of  locating 
the  bath-tub,  bowl  and  water-closet  in  the  same 
apartment,  is,  in  my  judgment,  objectionable,  and 

*A  very  readable  account  of  "  House  Building  In  its  relation 
to  Hygiene,"  especially  "Heating  and  Ventilation,"  is  given  by 
Carl  Pfeiffer,  Esq.,  Architect,  in  "Wood's  Household  Practice  of 
Medicine,"  Vol.  I. 


256 

should  only  be  adopted  in  the  case  of  large  resi- 
dences, having  a  great  number  of  bath  and  dressing- 
rooms.  For  small  dwelling-houses,  cottages,  and 
for  apartment  houses,  the  water-closet  should  be 
located  in  a  separate, well-lighted  and  well- ventilated 
apartment,  with  a  door  opening  into  the  hallway, 
if  possible,  adjoining  the  door  leading  to  the  bath- 
room. (See  Figs.  256  and  257.) 


FiQ.  258.— Ventilation  of  House-side  of  Trap. 

A  most  excellent  arrangement  for  preventing 
any  fouling  of  the  air  through  plumbing  fixtures 
consists  in  ventilating  not  only  the  soil  and  waste 
pipes,  and  the  traps,  but,  in  addition  to  these,  the 
house-side  of  the  trap  or  the  generally  short  length 


257 

of  waste  pipe  between  the  fixture  and  the  trap,  an<J 
the  overflow  pipes,  where  such  are  provided.  We 
have  already  mentioned  that  overflow  pipes,  and 
any  waste  pipe  not  often  used  and  flushed,  are 
liable  to  become  foul  and  ill-smelling,  and  for 
overflow  pipes  in  particular  such  a  ventilation  is 
much  to  be  recommended.  It  consists  in  running 
vent  pipes  of  proper  size  from  the  house-side  of 
the  trap  to  some  constantly  heated  flue  or  shaft. 
(See  Fig.  258).  Such  a  ventilation  will  also  re- 
move any  gases  that  may  possibly  be  given  off 
from  the  house- side  of  a  water  seal,  in  case  the 


Sea 


FIG.  25b.  —Vent  of  Water-closet  under  the  seat. 

water  in  the  latter  should  become  stagnant.  In 
office  buildings,  stores,  factories,  it  is  not  a  difficult 
matter  to  secure  such  a  constant  draft,  by  the  use 
of  a  steam-coil  or  a  smoke-stack,  and  even  in  a 
private  dwelling  such  a  ventilation  can  be  pro- 
vided. We  have,  heretofore,  objected  to  running 
either  soil,  waste  or  vent  pipes  into  a  heated  flue, 
but  the  arrangement  for  ventilating  fixtures  differs 
from  the  former,  as  the  ventilation  is  all  on  the 
house-side  of  the  trap.  Fig.  245  shows  a  lavatory 
ventilated  in  this  manner.  Figs.  259,  260  and  261 


258 


illustrate  this  method  of  ventilation  applied  to 
water-closets.  The  ventilation  is  arranged  either 
directly  under  the  seat  (Fig.  259)  or  the  bowl  is 
provided  with  a  vent  pipe  attachment  (Fig.  260), 


FIG.  260.— Vent  of  Water-closet  from  side  of  bowl. 

or   else   the   hopper   is   provided   just   above    the 
house-side   of  the  water   seal  with   a   vent   (Fig. 


FIG.  261.— Vent  of  Water-closet  from  under  the  hopper. 

In  Fig.  261  such  ventilation  by  means  of  a  gas- 
jet  is  indicated,  the  pipe  B  being  the  vent  leading 
from  the  closet  bowl  to  the  flue. 

Such  vent  pipes  from  fixtures  will  secure  a  con- 
stant draft  down  through  strainers  and  overflow  of 
basins,  baths  and  sinks,  as  well  as  water-closets, 
and  will,  to  some  extent,  assist  in  changing  or  re- 


259 

moving  the  vitiated  air  of  the  apartment,  instead 
of,  as  is  usually  the  case,  being  the  cause  of  the  pol- 
lution of  the  air  in  the  rooms.  For  bath-rooms, 
without  an  external  window,  this  would,  per  se,  be 
insufficient,  and  a  special  ventilation  of  the  room 
should  be  arranged  as  already  stated. 

I  do  not  agree  with  those  that  would  banish  all 
modern  conveniences  from  the  main  portion  of  the 
house,  and  would  place  them  all  in  an  annex,  cut 
off  from  the  main  house.  The  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  most  plumbing  fixtures  would,  to  a 
great  extent,  be  lost  by  following  such  a  plan. 
What  should  be  done  is  to  abolish  water-closets 
and  wash-bowls  from  sleeping-rooms,  or  unventi- 
lated  closed  closets,  adjoining  these — as  is  so  often 
found  in  American  hotels.  I  believe,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  it  is  quite  possible  to  arrange  a  bath- 
room in  the  centre  of  a  house,  or  adjoining  a 
sleeping-room,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  perfectly 
healthy. 

Mr.  E.  C.  Gardner,  the  well-known  architectural 
writer,  thus  defines  a  bath-room  for  a  "  home  "  : 

"A  bath-room,  with  all  the  plumbing  articles  it  usually 
contains,  must  possess  at  least  three  special  character- 
istics. It  must  be  easily  warmed  in  cold  weather,  other- 
wise the  annual  bill  for  repairs  will  be  greater  than  the 
cost  of  coal  for  the  whole  house ;  its  walls,  floors  and 
ceilings  must  be  impervious  to  sound.  The  music  of 
murmuring  brooks  is  delightful  to  our  ears,  so  is  the 
patter  of  the  soft  rain  on  the  roof  ;  but  the  splashing  of 
water  in  a  bath-tub  and  the  gurgling  of  unseen  water- 
pipes,  are  not  pleasant  accompaniments  to  a  dinner- 
table  conversation.  Thirdly,  it  must  be  perfectly  venti- 
lated— not  the  drain  pipes  merely,  but  the  room  itself — 
in  summer  and  in  winter.  Two  of  the  above  conditions 


260 

•can  best  be  secured  by  arranging  to  have  this  important 
room  placed  in  a  detached  or  semi-detached  wing ;  and 
here  begin  the  compromises  between  convenience,  cost 
and  safety.  It  is  convenient  to  have  a  bath-room  at- 
tached to  every  chamber,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
this  may  be  done  with  entire  safety,  provided  you  do 
not  regard  the  cost.  In  your  plan  I  have  adopted  the 
middle  course.  There  is  one  bath-room  for  all  the 
chambers  of  the  second  floor,  not  too  remote,  but 
somewhat  retired,  and  having  no  communication  with 
any  other  room.  It  is  ventilated  by  a  large  open  flue 
carried  up  directly  through  the  roof  ;  it  has  also  an  out- 
side window  and  inlets  for  fresh  air  near  the  floor.  All 
the  walls  and  partitions  around  it  will  be  double  and 
filled  with  mineral  wool,  and  the  floors  will  be  deaf- 
ened. The  'house-side'  of  the  water-closet  traps  will 
have  three-inch  iron  pipes  running  to  the  ventilating 
flue  beside  the  kitchen  chimney,  a  flue  that  will  always 
be  warm,  and  therefore  certain  to  give  a  strong  upward 
draught  at  all  times,  which  cannot  be  said  of  any  other 
flue  in  the  house,  not  even  of  the  main  drain  or  soil 
pipe  which  passes  up  through  the  roof.  It  would  be 
easy  to  keep  other  flues  warmed  in  cold  weather  by 
steam  pipes,  but  in  summer  you  will  have  no  steam  for 
heating  purposes.  A  'circulation-pipe'  might  be  at- 
tached to  a  boiler  on  the  kitchen  range  for  this  purpose, 
but  in  the  present  case  such  a  contrivance  would  cost 
more  than  the  iron  pipe  carried  from  the  bath-room  to 
the  flue  that  is  warmed  by  the  kitchen  fire.  A  good 
way  to  build  this  ventilating  flue  is  to  enclose  the 
smoke-pipe  from  the  range,  which  may  be  of  iron  or 
glazed  earthen  pipe,  in  a  larger  brick  flue  or  chamber, 
keeping  it  in  place  by  bars  of  iron  laid  into  the  masonry. 
The  rising  current  of  warm  air  around  the  heated 
smoke-pipe  will  be  as  constant  and  reliable  as  the  trade 
winds." 

We  have  already  stated,  in  speaking  of  fixtures, 
that  overflow  pipes  are  liable  to  become  a  nuisance 


261 

and  should  be  dispensed  with  wherever  possible. 
We  have  also  endeavored  to  offer  practical  sugges- 
tions having  this  object  in  view. 

It  has  been  customary,  hitherto,  to  provide  "  set 
fixtures  "  not  only  with  overflow  pipes,  but,  in  ad- 
dition to  these,  with  ?  safes  "  or  linings  of  sheet- 
lead  on  the  floor,  turned  up  two  or  three  inches, 
from  which  a  drip  pipe  carries  any  leakage  of 
water  safely  away,  thus  preventing  damage  to  ceil- 
ings. Such  drip  pipes  should,  under  no  circum- 
stances whatever,  be  connected  to  any  soil  or  waste 
pipe,  or  any  sewer.  They  must  run  vertically 
down  to  the  basement  or  to  the  cellar,  discharging 
over  an  open  sink,  or  into  a  movable  pail,  or  they 
must  stop  at  the  ceiling  of  cellar,  their  mouth  being 
closed  with  a  return-bend,  having  a  deep  water- 
seal,  to  prevent  cellar  air  from  rising  to  the  upper 
floors. 

Where  such  "  safes  "  and  drip  pipes  are  in  use, 
we  would  propose  to  discharge  overflow  pipes  over 
such  safes  ;  the  drip  pipe  will,  then,  act  as  an  over- 
flow pipe,  carrying  any  overflowing  water  to  the 
open  sink  in  the  cellar,  which  in  its  turn  has  a 
trapped  connection  to  the  soil  pipe  or  house 
sewer. 

Lead  safes,  however,  are  a  very  unsightly  addition 
to  any  plumbing  fixture.  Our  suggestions  in  re- 
gard to  setting  fixtures  in  an  "  open  "  manner  could 
hardly  be  followed,  where  lead  safes  are  used.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  seems  at  least  very  doubtful  if 
such  safes  are  really  needed  where  fixtures  are  set 
without  woodwork.  In  the  latter  case  a  leak  at  a 
ooupling  of  a  washbowl  faucet,  or  any  other  leak, 


262 

would  speedily  be  detected  before  doing  much 
damage.  We  therefore  suggest  doing  away  with 
"  safes  "  as  much  as  possible. 

The  following  design  for  a  bathroom  would 
seem,  although  more  costly,  to  be  superior  to  the 
usual  arrangement.  (See  Fig.  255.)  Let  the  part  of 
the  floor  on  which  the  fixtures  stand  be  made  imper- 
vioics,  either  by  making  it  a  cement  or  concrete  floor, 
or  finishing  it  up  with  broken  stones  of  various  colors 
and  with  designs  (so-called  Terrazzo  work),  or  else 
by  laying  white  Minton  or  marble  tiles.  The  latter 
arrangement  is,  of  course,  the  most  expensive,  but 
nothing  can  surpass  such  a  finish  of  a  bathroom  in 
point  of  appearance  and  cleanliness.  The  walls 
may  also  be  finished,  to  a  greater  or  lesser  height, 
in  tiles,  decorative  tiles  being  used  extensively 
for  such  purpose.  Let  the  floor  on  which  the  fix- 
tures stand  be  somewhat  lower  than  that  of  the  re- 
mainder of  the  room.  Let  the  impervious  floor  be 
graded  toward  one  outlet  (shown  in  the  sketch), 
and  carry  from  it  a  drip-pipe  to  an  open  sink 
in  the  cellar,  carefully  protecting  the  outlet  in  the 
floor  by  a  plated  strainer.  Now  abolish  both  overflow 
pipes  and  lead  safes.  Be  sure  that  you  have  a 
good  workman  who  understands  the  practical  de- 
tails of  his  craft.  Let  him  do  the  work  right  in 
the  first  place,  and  there  will  be  little,  if  any,  dan- 
ger from  leaks  or  overflows. 

The  first  outlay  for  such  an  arrangement  will  be 
greater  than  if  the  work  were  done  in  the  usual 
manner,  but  the  subsequent  repairs,  leakages,  annoy- 
ances in  calling  in  the  plumber,  will  be  much  less 
frequent.  Yet  we  venture  to  say  that  very  few  ar- 


263 

chitects  would  be  willing  to  depart  from  the  old 
and  defective  methods  of  doing  things.  It  is  all 
the  more  agreeable,  therefore,  to  find  an  occasional 
exception.  In  a  book  full  of  sound,  practical  ad- 
vice on  matters  connected  with  "  Building  a 
Home,"  the  well-known  architect,  Mr.  E.  C.  Gard- 
ner, writes  as  follows  : 

"  It  is  customary,  and  doubtless  wise,  considering  our 
habit  of  doing  things  so  imperfectly  the  first  time,  that 
we  have  no  confidence  in  their  stability,  to  place  large 
basins  of  sheet-lead  under  all  plumbing  articles,  lest 
from  some  cause  they  should  '  spring  a  leak '  and  dam- 
age the  floors  or  ceilings  below  them.  One  strong  safe- 
guard being  better  than  two  weak  ones,  I  would  dis- 
pense with  the  '  overflow '  and  arrange  so  that  when 
anything  ran  over  accidentally  the  lead  basin  or  '  safe  * 
should  catch  the  water  and  carry  it  through  an  ample 
waste-pipe  of  its  own  to  some  inoffensive  outlet.  This 
would,  perhaps,  involve  setting  the  plumbing  articles  in 
the  most  simple  and  open  fashion — which  ought  always 
to  be  done.  'Cabinets,1  cupboards,  casings  and  wood 
finish,  no  matter  how  full  of  conveniences,  or  how  ele- 
gantly made,  are  worse  than  useless  in  connection  with 
plumbing  fixtures,  which,  for  all  reasons,  should  stand 
forth  in  absolute  nakedness.  They  must  be  qp  strongly 
and  simply  made,  that  no  concealment  will  be  neces- 
sary." (The  italics  are  mine). 

And  now,  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  care  of 
plumbing  work.  No  matter  how  well  planned  and 
arranged,  plumbing  fixtures  must  be  judiciously 
used,  and  require  looking  after  from  time  to  time. 
Even  the  best  ventilated  and  best  flushed  water- 
closet  will  get  dirty  and  ill-smelling,  unless  often 
cleaned  ;  the  same  is  true  of  kitchen  sinks,  laundry 
tubs,  slop-hoppers,  and  other  appliances.  It  is  espe- 
cially important  that  the  water  in  all  traps  must  be 


264 

frequently  changed.  Reference  to  this  point  was 
made  on  page  58,  and  further  on  (page  268)  an  ap- 
paratus will  be  mentioned  having  this  end  in  view. 
A  good  house- wife  will  instruct  the  house-maid  in 
regard  to  these  cleaning  operations,  which  should 
be  repeated  at  fixed  and  frequent  intervals,  cer- 
tainly as  often  as  once  a  week. 

All  earthenware  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned 
by  means  of  hot  water,  soap,  and  a  scrubbing- 
brush;  dust  and  dirt  must  be  removed,  and  the 
floors  and  walls  frequently  washed  and  scrubbed. 
All  this  will  be  much  facilitated,  first,  by  arranging 
the  fixtures  iu  an  open  manner,  as  described  above, 
and  second,  by  locating  each  fixture  in  a  well-light- 
ed apartment  or  closet.  A  valuable  addition  to  a 
well-arranged  bath-room,  such  as  shown  in  Fig. 
255,  will  be  a  bibb  with  screw  nozzle,  to  which  a 
hose  can  be  attached,  located  near  the  outlet  in  the 
impervious  floor,  shown  in  the  above  cut,  by  means 
of  which  hose  a  thorough  scouring  of  the  sides  of 
the  water-closet  bowl,  of  the  earthen  bath  tub,  of 
the  tiled  floor,  etc.,  can  be  effected. 

In  addition  to  such  regular  cleaning  operations, 
inspections  of  the  whole  plumbing  work  are  much 
to  be  recommended.  It  is  true,  that  if  all  pipes 
are  kept  in  sight,  inspections  are  not  often  re- 
quired. 

A  prudent  householder  will,  nevertheless,  ex- 
amine the  plumbing  work  at  least  as  often 
as  the  annual  house-cleaning  occurs,  to  assure  him- 
self of  the  reliability  of  all  traps  under  fixtures, 
of  the  good  condition  of  all  flushing  apparatus, 
of  the  absence  of  leaks,  etc. 


265 

The  best  disinfectant  in  all  cases  is  fresh  air  and 
a  sure  and  bountiful  flush  of  water,  assisted  by 
manual  cleansing.  It  may,  however,  at  times  be- 
come necessary  to  use  disinfectants  for  those 
plumbing  fixtures  receiving  discharges  from  the 
human  body.  A  diluted  solution  of  bichloride  of 
mercury  has  been  recommended  lately,  as  being 
the  best ;  it  must  be  used  with  great  caution,  as  it 
is  a  strong  poison.  Sulphate  of  iron  or  copperas 
is  much  cheaper;  both  should  be  followed  with  a 
large  quantity  of  clean  water,  to  prevent  a  chemical 
action  in  the  waste  pipes  and  traps. 

Considerable  trouble  is  experienced  in  the 
proper  care  of  plumbing  in  dwellings  occupied  only 
during  a  part  of  the  year.  There  are  first  a  large 
number  of  city  residences,  which  are  generally 
•closed,  or  at  least  their  plumbing  fixtures  put  out 
of  use  for  two  or  three  months,  and  sometimes  for 
a  longer  period  during  the  Summer.  The  great 
danger  in  this  case  is  from  evaporation  of  the 
water  in  traps,  the  seal  of  which  is  rarely  more 
than  l£  or  2  inches  in  depth.  To  quote  from  T.  M. 
Clark,  Esq.,  Architect: 

"  Few  people  need  to  be  told  that  a  week  or  two 
of  hot  weather  is  enough  to  evaporate  the  sealing 
water  from  the  traps  of  wash-bowls,  baths,  or  even 
water-closets,  leaving  an  open  passage  from  the  drains 
into  the  house,  through  which  sewer  vapors  flow  freely, 
often  saturating  curtains,  carpets,  and  furniture  with 
their  faint,  sickly  odor,  to  salute  the  family  on  its  re- 
turn home  in  the  autumn.  When  we  reflect,  also, that  the 
reopening  of  the  house  usually  takes  place  in  the  most 
fatal  month  of  the  year — September — when  the  system  is 
especially  susceptible  to  zymotic  influences,  and  that  the 
return  of  delicate  persons  from  the  country  air  to  the 


266 

stifling  atmosphere  of  the  city,  is  generally  attended 
with  a  certain  depression  of  the  vital  powers,  the  danger 
of  sudden  exposure  to  the  influence  of  a  house  where 
foul  vapors  have  for  months  been  floating  undisturbed, 
and  their  deposits  accumulating  and  corrupting  in  the 
darkness,  is  evident,  and  the  trifling  care  which  is  ne- 
cessary to  give  reasonable  security  against  at  least  the 
unchecked  circulation  of  foul  air  in  the  rooms  will  be 
well  repaid." 

The  ordinary  water-seal  trap  affords  no  protection 
in  case  of  evaporation  of  the  water  ;  mechanical 
traps  with  a  flap-valve,  a  trap  with  a  gravity  ball- 
valve,  or  with  floating  ball,  and  mercury-sealed 
traps  are  preferable  in  this  respect  (See  Chapter  V.) 

Fixtures  with  a  socket  and  plug,  or  a  waste  cock 
(bowls,  bath-tubs,  pantry  sinks,  wash-tubs),  may 
be  closed  against  sewer  air  by  shutting  the  waste- 
valve,  or  closing  the  outlet  with  the  plug,  and  fill- 
ing the  fixture  with  water.  The  holes  for  the 
overflow-pipe  are  generally  closed  with  corks,  in 
the  case  of  bowls,  and  with  paper  secured  with 
glue,  over  the  outlet,  in  the  case  of  sinks  and  tubs. 
This  does  not,  of  course,  afford  perfect  protection. 

The  common  open  strainers  for  sinks  can  be  re- 
placed by  plug  strainers,  and  the  latter  inserted 
and  the  sink  filled  with  water. 

For  such  a  case,  fixtures  without  overflow  pipe,, 
such  as  proposed  on  page  262,  offer  great  advan- 
tages. 

A  much  better,  though  more  costly  protection, 
may  be  found  in  providing  each  waste  pipe  with  a 
lever  handle  round  way  stop-cock,  to  be  shut  off 
when  the  house  is  being  closed.  It  need  hardly  be 
mentioned  that  the  water  supply  must  be  shut  off 


267 


FIG.  262. 
Apparatus  for  maintaining  the  seal  in  traps. 


268 

from  every  fixture  before  closing  the  stop-cock  on 
the  waste  pipe. 

For  the  traps  of  water-closets,  the  only  remedy 
would  be  to  dip  out  all  water  and  replace  it  by  oil 
or  by  a  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium.  Even  a 
piece  of  rock-salt,  placed  into  the  water  of  the 
trap,  will  tend  to  keep  it  filled  by  absorbing  mois- 
ture from  the  air.  These  latter  solutions  may  also 
be  used  for  all  traps  on  smaller  waste  pipes. 

Recently  only,  an  apparatus  for  maintaining  the 
seals  of  traps  came  to  my  notice,*  invented  by  Louis 
M.  Hooper,  Esq.,  C.E.  It  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  262. 

To  the  house  supply  is  attached  a  graduated 
cock  B,  from  which  water  dribbles  into  the  tum- 
bling tank  C,  to  be  discharged  at  more  or  less  fre- 
quent intervals  into  a  vessel  D,  from  which  a  pipe 
with  graduating  branches  carries  the  water  to  all 
fixtures  in  the  dwelling,  those  having  overflow- 
pipes  receiving  their  water  through  these,  while 
water-closets  receive  their  share  through  a  branch 
entering  the  supply  pipe  between  the  cistern  and 
the  bowl,  and  kitchen  sinks  and  wash-tubs  receiv- 
ing their  amount  into  the  waste  pipe  on  the  house- 
side  of  the  trap.  Such  an  arrangement  would 
render  the  whole  trap  system  safe  against  evapo- 
ration, and,  although  adding  to  the  cost  of  plumb- 
ing, seems  well  worth  considering.  It  offers  the 
further  advantage  that  it  refills  the  traps  under 
fixtures  in  case  of  siphonage  (although  vent  pipes 
are  also  added  to  prevent  dead  ends  in  the  waste 
pipe  system),  and  finally,  it  affords  means  of 


*  See  Sanitary  Engineer  of  Nov.  15, 1883. 


269 

automatically  changing  the  contents  of  the  traps 
under  sinks,  tubs  and  bowls,  which  have  no  special 
flushing  cistern,  and  thus  will  largely  contribute  to 
the  purity  of  the  air  of  rooms,  containing  such 
plumbing  fixtures.  (See  remarks,  pp.  58  and  264.) 

Still  more  trouble  is  experienced  in  the  case  of 
country  or  sea-shore  dwellings,  summer  hotels,  etc., 
which  are  closed  during  the  winter  season.  The 
chief  danger  to  the  plumbing  work  arises  in  this  case 
from  the  freezing  of  the  water  in  pipes  and  traps. 

As  to  supply  pipes  in  such  buildings,  these 
should,  of  course,  be  planned  and  laid  out  in  such 
a  manner  that  every  line  of  pipe  can  be  completely 
drained  and  emptied. 

All  waste  pipes,  on  the  other  hand,  have,  in  a  good 
system  of  plumbing,  sufficient  fall  to  insure  the 
running  off  of  all  water  from  the  pipes. 

The  difficulty  arises  from  the  water  which  forms 
the  seal  in  the  water-seal  traps.  In  a  well-arranged 
system  every  trap  is,  if  not  in  plain  sight,  at 
least  easily  accessible,  and  every  trap  may  be 
emptied  either  by  removing  a  brass  trap  screw  at 
its  bottom,  or  else  by  dipping  the  water  out  with  a 
sponge.  After  this  is  done,  each  fixture  affords  an 
opening  to  the  entrance  of  sewer  gas,  and  must  be 
closed  in  the  same  way  as  stated  above  for  dwell- 
ings closed  in  summer  time. 

It  is  preferable  not  to  empty  the  traps,  but  to 
throw  a  large  quantity  of  rock-salt  into  them, 
which,  though  it  does  not  render  freezing  impossi- 
ble, still  renders  it  much  more  difficult.  If  not 
too  expensive,  a  mixture  of  glycerine  and  water 
may  prove  of  great  service. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


BEMOVAL   AND    DISPOSAL    OF   HOUSEHOLD    WASTES. 


External  Sewerage  of  Dwellings. 

FROM  a  point  about  ten  feet  outside  of  the 
cellar  walls  the  house  sewer  need  not  be  of 
iron,  but  may  consist  of  strong,  vitrified  earthen 
pipe,  or  of  cement  pipe,  unless  the  sewer  passes 
near  a  well  or  spring,  in  which  case  iron  pipe  is 
preferable. 

For  ordinary-sized  dwellings  and  lots,  a  pipe 
sewer  four  inches  in  diameter  will  prove  ample  to 
remove  the  house  sewage  and  the  largest  rain-fall. 
Remember  that  the  more  the  size  of  the  drain  is 
restricted  within  the  limits  of  desired  capacity,  the 
more  self-cleansing  will  it  be.  I  take  the  following 
useful  table  of  sizes  of  drains  from  Denton's 
"  Handbook  of  House  Sanitation  :"  * 


*  Another  reliable  table  for  calculating  the  size  of  house  drains, 
is  given  in  W.  P.  Gerhard's  "  House  Drainage  and  Sanitary 
Plumbing,"  published  by  D.  Van  Nostrand,  N.  Y.  2d  Edition. 
1884. 

See  also  the  "  Diagram  of  Sewer  Calculations,"  constructed  by 
the  author  and  published  In  1882,  by  E.  &  F.  N.  Spon,  London 
*nd  New  York. 


271 


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272 

The  inclination  of  the  house  sewer  should  be, 
wherever  possible,  not  less  than  \  inch  per  foot, 
but  even  a  fall  of  -J  inch  to  the  foot  will  cause  a 
sufficient  velocity  in  the  drain  to  remove  silt  and 
water-closet  matter.  If  the  locality  does  not  afford 
a  chance  for  such  an  inclination,  a  proper  flushing 
apparatus  for  the  house  sewer  must  be  provided. 

To  bring  the  sewer  out  of  reach  of  frost,  it 
should  be  laid  at  least  three  feet  deep.  It  must  be 
laid  in  perfectly  straight  lines.  Wherever  changes 
of  direction  occur,  these  should  be  effected  by  easy 
curves,  made  of  bent  pipes.  Branch  drains  should 
enter  the  main  house  sewer  by  Y-branches  so  as  to- 
join  the  flow  of  both  pipes  without  causing  eddies. 
Should  the  house  sewer  be  very  long,  it  is  well  to 
provide  means  for  occasional  inspections,  access 
pipes  or  lampholes,  at  distances  of  about  100  feet, 
and  manholes  at  distances  of  300  to  400  feet.  These 
will,  at  the  same  time,  if  provided  with  open 
gratings,  perform  the  important  task  of  ventilating 
the  house  sewer  throughout  its  entire  length. 

Vitrified  pipes  are  manufactured  of  some  kinds 
of  clay,  ground  in  a  mill  and  homogeneously 
mixed.  The  mixture  is  brought  to  a  press  and 
passed  through  dies,  from  whence  the  pipes  issue. 
Smaller  sizes  are  made  in  horizontal  presses,  while 
the  larger  sizes  should  preferably  be  made  in  up- 
right presses.  The  pipes  are  now  ready  for  the 
glazing,  and  here  two  processes  may  be  distin- 
guished, the  salt-glazing  and  the  slip-glazing.  In 
the  former  process  the  pipes  are  subjected  to  a 
very  high  temperature  in  a  kiln,  into  which  some 
salt  is  thrown,  which  creates  a  flux  on  the  pipe 


273 


surface.  To  this  latter  is  largely  due  the  glossy- 
appearance  of  the  pipe  ;  it  also  renders  the  pipe 
more  impervious  and  not  so  easily  affected  by 
acids,  alkalines,  or  sewage  gases. 

Slip-glazed  pipes,  on  the  other  hand,  are  made 
by  dipping  the  pipes  into  a  peculiar  glaze  called 
slip,  and  then  drying  them  in  a  kiln. 

Good  vitrified  pipes  must  be  circular,  and  true 
in  section,  of  a  uniform  thickness,  perfectly  straight 
(this  is  very  important  to  insure  a  good  line  of 
pipe),  free  from  any  cracks  or  other  defects  ;  they 
should  be  hard,  tough,  not  porous,  and  of  a  highly 
smooth  surface.  The  thickness  of  good  earthen 
pipe  should  average  as  follows  : 


DIAMETER  OF 
PIPE    IN    INCHES. 

3 

4 

5 

6 

8 

10 

12 
1 

15 

n 

18 

THICKNESS  OF 
PIPE    IN    INCHES. 

t 

4 

B 
8 

« 

i 

7 
5 

H 

Vitrified  pipes  are  made  in  lengths  of  two  or 
three  feet,  either  plain  (Fig.  263,  5),  or  elie  they 
are  made  with  a  socket  end.  (Fig.  263,  a).  Many 
engineers  prefer  the  plain  or  ring  pipe,  which  is 
laid  with  sleeves,  as  this  allows  of  an  easy  ex- 
change of  a  single  length  of  pipe  from  a  pipe  line 
already  laid,  while,  with  the  socket  pipe,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  disturb  several  lengths.  To  overcome 
this  difficulty,  pipes  are  also  manufactured  with 
half-sockets  (Fig.  264a),  or  else  they  are  made  plain 
at  both  ends,  and  are  bedded  with  cement  in 
earthen  chairs  (Fig.  264b). 


274 


263.— Vitrified  Plp«  and  Fittings. 


FIG.  384a.— Opercular,  or  half-socket  pipe. 
All  pipe  works  manufacture  a  large  number  of 
fittings  for  earthen  pipes,  such  as  traps,  Y-branches, 
T-branches,   junction    pieces,   bends,   offsets,    etc. 
(See  Fig.  263,c  to  263,5.) 


FIG.  364b.— Saddle  Chair  or  Access  Pipe. 

Cement  pipes,  though  not  as  universally  used  a& 
vitrified  pipe,  have  been  manufactured  for  years  for 
drainage  purposes.  If  care  is  observed  in  their 
manufacture  from  best  Portland  cement,  such  pipes 
can  be  made  very  strong  and  durable,  and  of  a 
very  uniform  cross-section.  They  have  also  the 
advantage  of  not  warping,  as  the  earthen  pipes  do 
in  the  kiln.  The  interior,  however,  is  not  as 
smooth,  and  unless  well  flushed  they  are  more  apt 
to  become  covered  with  a  dangerous  slime,  danger- 
ous because  it  will  putrefy  and  thereby  fill  the 
pipes  with  gases  of  decomposition. 

If  vitrified  pipes  are  used  for  sewerage  pur- 
poses, the  pipes  must  be  continuously  supported 
to  prevent  breakage,  and  grooves  should  be  cut  so 
as  to  make  the  pipe  rest  on  its  full  length.  (See 
Fig.  265.) 


276 


There  are  but  a  few  so-called  "  drain  layers " 
thoroughly  understand  the  laying  of  pipe 
sewers.  To  insure  tightness  of  joints  it  is  well,  in 
using  socket  pipes,  to  ram  first  a  small  gasket  of 


FIG.  265.— Proper  method  of  laying  earthen  drains. 

oakum  between  spigot  and  hub,  which  will  prevent 
the  cement  from  entering  at  the  joints  to  create  in 
hardening  an  obstruction.  To  do  so  it  is  quite 
necessary  that  the  socket  should  be  very  deep.  The 
remainder  of  the  space  should  be  filled  with  a 
mortar  consisting  of  an  even  mixture  of  best 


FIG.  366a.— Cement  Joint  in  Vitrified  Socket  Pipe. 

Portland  cement  and  clean  sharp  sand.  The  cement 
and  sand  should  be  thoroughly  mixed  dry,  and  then 
wetted  up  only  as  needed.  No  lime  should  ever 
be  used  in  this  mixture,  nor  should  any  cement  be 
used  that  has  begun  to  set.  Cement  is  also  wiped 


277 

in  front  of  the  joint,  as  shown  in  Fig.  266a.  Fig. 
266b  illustrates  a  joint  in  plain  pipe  made  with  a 
collar  or  sleeve. 


FIG.  266b.— Cement  Joint  in  Vitrified  Plain  Pipe. 
Before  refilling  the  trench  it  is  to  be  recom- 
mended to  test  the  pipes  and  joints  by  hydraulic 
pressure,  by  closing  the  main  outlet  of  the  house 
sewer  and  filling  the  pipes  with  water.  Consider- 
ing the  usual  wretched  manner  of  laying  house 
drains,  such  tests  seem  to  be  extremely  necessary. 
Vitrified  pipes  with  well  cemented  joints  are  per- 
fectly able  to  stand  some  internal  pressure.  I 
recently  learned  of  a  pipe-line  in  Wurtemberg, 
Oermany,  4,020  metres  (2£  miles)  long,  and  10 
centimetres  (4  inches)  in  diameter,  supplying  a  rail- 
road tank  with  60  cubic  metres  of  water  daily, 
which  line  was  subject,  in  several  places,  to  a  head 
of  water  of  8  metres  (26.25  feet),  equivalent  to  11.4 
Ibs.  pressure  per  square  inch.  In  laying  this  line 
of  vitrified  pipe,  each  pipe  was  carefully  inspected 
and  tested  under  75  Ibs.  pressure  before  use.  After 
laying  the  pipe  and  after  the  cement  in  the  joints 
had  hardened,  the  line  was  tested  in  sections,  each 
section  being  subjected  for  15  minutes  to  a  pres- 
sure of  60  Ibs. 


278 

Such  severe  tests  of  the  external  sewerage  cor- 
responding to  the  testing  of  the  internal  pipe  system 
by  water,  will  secure  work  of  a  quality  and  char- 
acter such  as  is  desired  for  sanitary  reasons, 
namely,  a  perfectly  water-tight  conduit,  without 
any  joints  through  which  sewage  may  leak  out  or 
sub-soil  water  enter. 

To  secure  a  water-tight  joint  under  specially 
difficult  conditions,  such  as  water  in  sewer  trenches, 
tides,  etc.,  various  pipes  have  been  made  with 
patent  joints;  for  instance,  the  "  Stanford  Patent 
Joint  Pipe,"  which  has  rings  of  some  bituminous 
compound  cast  on  the  spigot  end,  and  in  the 
socket  of  each  pipe.  Just  before  using  them  the 
parts  to  be  jointed  are  greased,  and  then  the  spigot 
end  carefully  and  truly  entered  into  the  socket. 
(See  Fig.  267). 


PIG.  267.— Stanford  Patent  Joint  Pipe. 

To  facilitate  future  inspections  and  to  remove 
occasional  obstructions,  it  is  to  be  recommended 
to  keep  a  correct  and  detailed  record  of  all  drains, 
their  sizes,  depths  and  rate  of  fall,  the  location  of 
all  traps,  Y-branches,  man-holes,  lamp-holes,  vent- 
openings,  junctions,  bends,  etc. 


279 
Disposal  of  Household  Wastes. 

By  means  of  the  house  sewer  we  effect  an  in- 
stant removal  of  all  liquid  and  semi-liquid  wastes 
from  the  dwelling.  The  next,  and  in  some  sense 
most  important  question,  is  how  to  dispose  of  these 
foul  wastes? 

In  the  case  of  city  dwellings  we  generally  find 
provision  made  by  sewers  in  the  principal  thor- 
oughfares. Nevertheless  it  is  only  in  few  cities- 
that  sewers  have  been  built  as  they  should  be,  ac- 
cording to  a  regular  "  system  ",  designed  and  laid 
out  by  an  engineer  of  large  experience  in  this 
special  branch  of  the  profession.  Much  remains 
to  be  done  in  this  direction,  but  the  subject  of 
"  city  sewerage  "  does  not  properly  belong  to  our 
volume  and  cannot  be  discussed  here.  Faulty 
connections  between  street  sewers  and  house  sewers 
have  been  mentioned  on  page  155.  Such  junctions 
should  be  made  by  •competent  workmen  only,  ac- 
cording to  rules  and  under  the  supervision  of  an 
inspector,  employed  by  the  city.  Wherever  a  new 
system  of  sewers  is  being  built,  it  is  a  good  prac- 
tice to  provide  special  house  connection  pieces  for 
every  lot  and  dwelling  on  both  sides  along  the  line 
of  the  main  sewer.  Sometimes  the  branches  for 
each  house  are  at  once  run  up  to  the  curb  line, 
thus  doing  away  with  the  usual  annoying  and 
detrimental  breaking  up  of  the  street  pavement. 

In  all  such  cases  where  sewers  are  built  by  the 
city,  the  final  disposal  of  the  sewage  is  a  matter  in 
which  the  city  authorities  are  more  directly  con- 
cerned  than  the  individual  householder.  The 


280 

latter's  work  stops  at  the  junction  between  house 
and  street  sewer. 

The  case  is  different  in  cities,  towns,  villages  or 
hamlets  without  sewers.  The  serious  question  of 
how  to  dispose  of  the  liquid  wastes  of  the  house- 
hold without  creating  a  nuisance  presents  itself  in 
such  cases  to  every  house-owner  or  tenant. 

In  towns  or  villages  with  houses  built  closely  to- 
gether, there  is  scarcely  a  remedy  for  the  evil, 
other  than  to  abolish  the  disgusting  and  health- 
endangering  cesspools  in  the  rear  of  the  houses, 
and  to  build,  by  united  action  of  the  citizens,  a 
complete  and  well-planned  system  of  sewers. 

In  suburban  or  rural  districts,  and  in  the  case  of 
isolated  buildings  with  ample  and  suitable  grounds 
about  them,  the  question  can,  fortunately,  be 
easily  solved  in  most  cases,  without  incurring  the 
expense  of  building  sewers,  the  proportionate  cost 
of  which  for  each  house  would  be  unusually  large 
in  the  case  of  scattered  dwellings. 

A  leaching  cesspool  in  a  free  and  porous  soil 
could,  often,  be  used  without  immediate  danger  to 
the  house  or  the  occupants  for  whom  it  is  intended, 
or  to  its  surroundings,  provided  it  could  be  located 
very  far  from  it  and  on  a  much  lower  level.  But 
such  an  arrangement  is  nevertheless  attended  with 
the  risk  that  the  liquid  sewage,  seeping  into  the 
subsoil,  may  reach  some  subterranean  fissure  or 
stratum,  along  which  it  would  move,  to  empty 
finally  into  a  spring  or  well,  often  miles  away. 
Outbreaks  of  typhoid  fever,  caused  by  drinking 
water  contaminated  in  this  manner,  have  often 
been  traced  to  such  a  leaching  cesspool.  The  la;  - 


281 

ter  should,  therefore,  be  considered  as  always 
objectionable  in  the  interest  of  the  public  health. 

The  only  proper  and  rational  method  of  sewage 
disposal  in  such  case  is  to  return  to  the  soil  as  fer- 
tilizers the  wastes  from  the  household.  This  can 
be  done  in  a  variety  of  ways,  but  whatever  method 
may  be  adopted,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  sewage  must  be  applied  to  the  soil  before  putre- 
faction begins,  that  it  should  be  applied  on  or  near 
the  surface  of  the  soil,  within  easy  reach  of  the 
oxidizing  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  and  that  it 
should  not  be  applied  in  such  quantities  as  to  satu- 
rate the  soil;  in  other  words,  the  sewage  must  not 
be  too  much  diluted,  and  the  application  of  the 
sewage  to  the  land  must  be  intermittent. 

Both  surface  irrigation  and  sub-surface  irri- 
gation have  been  successfully  employed  in  dis- 
posing of  household  wastes.  Fig.  268  illustrates 
the  disposal  by  surface  irrigation  adopted  by 


PlG.  268.— Disposal  of  Household  Wastes  by  Surface  Irrigation 

Mr.  Edward  S.  Philbrick,  C.E.,  at  his  country 
seat  at  Newport,  R.  I.*  For  cottages  having 
little  ground  about  them,  this  method  of  disposal 

*The  illustration  is  taken  from  Mr.  Philbrick's  book,  "  Ameri- 
can Sanitary  Engineering." 


282 

may  become  offensive  to  sight  and  smell  during 
the  hot  summer  months.  The  disposal  by  sub- 
surface irrigation  (see  Figs.  269  and  270)  is  free 
from  these  objections,  but  requires,  on  .the  other 
hand,  more  work  in  planning  and  laying  out  the 
system,  and  it  also  requires  the  laying  of  a  net- 
work of  distributing  drains  laid  under  and  near 
the  surface,  which  drains  occasionally  clog  up  and 
require  taking  up,  washing  out  and  relaying. 

Surface  irrigation  may  be  adopted  in  connection 
with  a  small,  well-ventilated  and  perfectly  tight 
cesspool  or  sewage  tank,  on  the  top  of  which  is  set 
a  small  pump,  with  hose  attached,  by  means  of 
which  the  liquid  may  be  sprinkled  over  the  lawn 
or  in  the  kitchen  garden.  If  preferred,  a  stop-gate 
may  be  placed  beyond  the  cesspool,  and  a  drain 
run  from  the  cesspool  to  an  irrigation  field  on  a 
lower  level,  if  such  can  be  had.  As  often  as  the 
cesspool  is  filled,  the  contents  should  be  discharged 
-by  opening  the  stop-valve.  The  cesspool  should 
not  holdj,  more  than  a  few  days'  waste  water,  and 
should,  preferably,  contain  an  intercepting  chamber 
for  grease  and  solids. 

As  we  believe  the  second  method  of  sewage  dis- 
posal to  be  the  one  preferable  for  isolated  dwell, 
ings  in  most  cases,  a  few  words  regarding  the  de- 
tails of  the  system  may  not  seem  out  of  place. 

This  system  was  first  brought  into  use  in  England 
by  the  Rev.  Henry  Moule,  Yicar  of  Fordington, 
the  well-known  inventor  of  the  earth  closet. 
Sewage  disposal  by  sub- surf  ace  irrigation  has  since 
been  extensively  practiced  by  Mr.  Rogers  Field 
and  Mr.  J.  Bayley  Denton,  both  prominent  sani- 


283 


284 

tary  engineers  in  England.  To  Col.  Geo.  E. 
Waring,  Jr.,  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  is  due  the  credit 
of  having  introduced  this  system  in  the  United 
States,  about  twelve  ago  ;  first,  for  his  own  house 
in  Newport ;  subsequently  for  a  large  number  of 
country  houses  in  the  Eastern  States  ;  finally,  on  a 
large  scale,  for  the  disposal  of  the  sewage  of  the 
woman's  prison,  at  Sherburn,  Mass.,  and  at  the 
Keystone  hotel,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa.  It  has  been 
adopted  since  by  many  civil  engineers  and  archi- 
tects for  the  drainage  of  suburban  and  country 
homes,  and  has  received  the  endorsement  of  physi- 
cians, sanitarians,  and  Boards  of  Health. 

The  principle  of  the  sub-surface  irrigation  system 
is  briefly  this  :  The  porous  soil  next  to  the  surface 
has  the  power  of  destroying  organic  substances 
and  rendering  them  innocuous,  partly  with  the  aid 
of  the  oxygen  contained  in  the  pores  of  the  sub- 
surface, partly  by  means  of  the  vegetation,  since 
the  rootlets  of  grass  and  shrubs  take  up  nourish- 
ment from  these  organic  matters.  The  sewage 
water,  from  which  all  impurities  have  thus  been 
removed,  settles  away,  and  becomes  still  more 
clarified  by  filtration,  in  most  cases  to  such  a  de- 
gree that,  if  removed  by  under-drains  (land  drains), 
it  is  found  to  be  quite  clear,  colorless,  free  of  taste 
or  smell. 

All  impurities  are  oxidized  and  destroyed  during 
the  interval  between  consecutive  discharges.  The 
importance  of  an  intermittent  action  becomes, 
therefore,  at  once  apparent.  If  this  is  secured, 
the  upper  layers  of  earth  are  enabled  to  take  up  at 
each  interval  between  discharges,  oxygen  from  the- 


285 

atmosphere  and  prepare  for  the  next  discharge. 
Another  reason  for  making  the  discharge  intermit- 
tent is  to  prevent  the  ground  from  becoming  satu- 
rated, wet  and  swampy. 

The  cardinal  difference  between  a  sub-surface 
irrigation  system  and  a  leaching  cesspool  is  this  : 
In  the  latter  case  the  amount  of  soil  used  for 
the  purification  of  the  sewage  is  quite  small  as 
compared  with  the  former,  where  the  surface  can 
be  chosen  according  to  the  amount  of  sewage  to  be 
disposed  of.  The  leaching  cesspool,  too,  when 
newly  built,  effects  some  purification  and  filtration 
of  the  household  wastes.  Soon,  however,  the  pores 
of  the  soil  clog  up,  as  the  organic  matter  is  not 
completely  oxidized  at  greater  depth  and  as  the 
aid  of  the  vegetation  is  lost.  The  soil  gradually 
becomes  saturated  with  sewage  matter,  which 
undergoes  a  slow  process  of  decomposition,  during 
which  many  unwholesome  gases  are  generated. 
These  gases  are  given  off  at  the  surface  and  are 
sucked  up  into  our  dwellings,  especially  in  winter 
time.  The  other  not  less  serious  evil  is  caused  by 
the  sewage  soaking  unpurified  into  the  ground, 
thereby  threatening  to  pollute  our  water  supplies. 
The  sub-surface  irrigation  system  consists  essen- 
tially of  two  parts  :  , 

First,  a  tight  receptacle  for  liquid  and  semi- 
liquid  house  refuse,  from  which  the  water  is 
discharged  at  intervals  into  a  system  of  under- 
ground tiles. 

Second,  a  system  of  common  two-inch  drain- 
tiles,  laid  with  open  joints,  a  few  inches  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  permitting  the 


286 

liquid  sewage  to  escape  at  each  joint,  to  be 
partly  purified  by  the  action  of  roots  of  grass 
or  shrubbery,  partly  oxidized  by  the  oxygen 
attaching  to  the  particles  of  the  soil  near  the 
surface. 

The  construction  of  the  tank  depends  upon  local 
conditions,  such  as  size  of  the  house,  number  of 
inhabitants,  character  of  the  foul  wastes  (slop  water 
only  or  slop  water  plus  excreta),  amount  of  water 
used,  etc.  Several  examples  will  be  given  later. 
The  size  should  be  regulated  so  as  to  have,  if  pos- 
sible, one  daily  discharge,  for  otherwise  the  sewage 
in  the  tank  might  commence  to  decompose,  making 
the  tank  practically  a  cesspool.  Of  course,  the 
tank  should,  in  any  case,  be  located  as  far  away  as 
possible  from  the  dwelling,  but  the  best  place  for 
it  will  depend  largely  upon  the  contour  of  the 
surface. 

The  sub-irrigation  field  should  also  be  remote 
from  the  house,  if  possible  in  a  direction  from 
which  the  wind  would  but  seldom  blow.  It  should 
not  be  located  near  a  well  or  a  spring.  It  may,  in 
the  case  of  small  cottages,  consist  only  of  one  line 
of  tiles,  or  it  may  contain  a  large  number  of  these, 
this  depending  also  upon  the  character  of  the  soil. 
The  system  works  best  in  a  sandy  or  gravelly 
loam,  but  even  in  heavy  clay  soil  it  has  been  used 
with  tolerable  success.  If  the  land  is  apt  co  be  wet 
it  must  be  thoroughly  underdrained  by  a  system 
of  deep  land  drains,  otherwise  the  sewage  will  soon 
come  out  at  the  surface  and  convert  this  into  a 
swamp.  Doubt  has  often  been  expressed  as  to  the 
working  of  the  system  in  winter  time.  Experi- 


287 


1 


288 

ence  has  taught  that  the  distributing  tiles  laid 
close  to  the  surface  will  not  freeze,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  temperature  of  the  sewage  being 
sufficiently  high  to  keep  the  sewage  in  the  pipes  in 
motion. 

Fig.  270  shows  a  plan  of  a  sub-surface  irrigation 
system,  D  being  the  house  sewer,  A  the  in- 
tercepting tank,  B  the  flush  tank,  C  the  main 
drain  to  the  sub-irrigation  field,  and  a,  b,  c,  d,  e,  f 
the  lines  of  absorption-drains.  The  dotted  lines 
indicate  the  contours  of  the  land,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  drains  closely  follow  these  lines,  thus 
becoming  almost  parallel  to  each  other. 

The  tiles  used  are  shown  in  Fig.  271,  and  are 


Fro.  271.— Absorption  Tiles,  with  gutters  and  caps. 

common  two-inch  porous  land-tiles,  one  foot  long. 
They  are  laid  about  8  or  10  inches  below  the  sur- 
face on  continuous  boards,  or  better  in  gutters  of 
earthenware,  as  shown,  which  gutters  must  be  ac- 
curately laid  in  the  trenches  at  the  required  grade. 
If  the  tiles  should  clog  up,  they  can  be  taken  up 
and  cleaned,  and  the  relaying  into  the  gutters  is 
then  a  rather  easy  matter,  which  can  be  accom- 


289 

plished  by  almost  any  common  laborer.  There 
must  be  a  space  left  at  each  joint  of  about  J  inch, 
in  order  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  the  sewage. 
To  protect  the  joint  from  earth  or  dirt  falling  from 
above,  small  caps  are  placed  at  each  joint,  as 
shown,  over  the  tiles. 

The  main  line  may  be  4  inches  in  diameter,  and 
from  it  the  2-inch  lines  branch  out  by  means  of 
Tees  or  Y-branches,  as  the  case  may  be,  with  side 
openings  branching  out  from  the  bottom,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  272.  The  main  line  is  cemented  tightly, 


FIG.  272.— Y-branch  and  Tee-branch  for  absorption  drains. 

and  so  is  each  branch  in  the  curved  part,  until  it 
strikes  the  depth  of  8  or  10  inches  from  the  sur- 
face (the  main  4-inch  drain  being  laid  two  feet 
deep  or  more).  The  manner  of  laying  the  absorp- 


290 


tion  tiles  is  further  illustrated  in  Fig.  273,  and  in 
Fig.  274,  showing  a  cross  section  through  tiles  and 
trench. 


FIG.  373.— Manner  of  laying  absorption  drains. 


FIG.  374.— Cross  section  through  a  trench,  with    absorption 
drains. 

The  fall  to  be  given  to  the  absorption  tiles 
should  be  just  sufficient  to  keep  the  sewage  in 
motion  ;  from  2  to  3  inches  per  100  feet  is  con- 
sidered ample  ;  the  main  drain  from  the  flush  tank 
to  the  irrigation  field  may  have  as  much  fall  as 
circumstances  will  permit,  but  near  the  absorption 
drain  branches  the  fall  should  be  limited  to  4  or 
6  inches  per  100  feet,  otherwise  the  sewage  would 
tend  to  run  to  the  lower  part  of  the  field,  over- 
oharging  the  lower  lines  of  drains,  and  oozing  out 


291 

at  the  surface.  The  main  4-inch  drain,  as  well  as- 
the  2-inch  absorption  drains,  must  be  laid  with  a 
perfectly  uniform  descent,  and  much  of  the  success 
of  the  system  will  depend  upon  the  accuracy  with 
which  this  part  of  the  work  is  laid  out  and  con- 
structed. 

In  the  case  of  very  small  houses,  the  sewage — 
consisting  of  slop-water  only — may  be  distributed 
by  carrying  it  from  the  house  by  hand  and  pour- 
ing it  out  of  a  pail  into  an  open  hopper  or  receiver 
of  wood  or  earthenware  with  a  strainer,  from  the 
bottom  of  which  hopper  a  line  of  pipe  leads  to  the 
absorption  drains.  (See  Fig.  275). 


*7 

T» r     ,-    / 

Pio.  275.— Plain  hopper  for  slop-water  disposal. 

For  small  cottages  having  only  a  kitchen  sink,  a 
receiving  tank  may  be  built  of  wood  and  located 
at  a  depth  beyond  the  reach  of  frost,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  276,  to  which  runs  a  waste  pipe  from  the 
sink.  If  filled,  the  tank  may  be  emptied  by  hand, 
and  thus  an  intermittent  discharge  established. 
The  illustration  shows  a  ball  float,  which  is  merely 
intended  to  open  the  outlet  automatically  in  case 
of  forgetfulness  of  the  occupant  of  the  cottage. 
That  part  of  the  tank,  which  is  divided  from  the 
main  tank  by  a  partition,  serves  as  a  grease-trap  to 
prevent  grease  from  the  kitchen  sinks  clogging  the 
absorption  tiles.  In  both  cases  illustrated  it  i& 


292 


293 

supposed  that  no  water-closet  exists  in  the  house. 
In  place  of  the  objectionable  privy,  there  should 
be  some  kind  of  earth-closet,  the  contents  of  which 
should  be  frequently  removed  and  dug  into  the 
ground. 

The  limits  of  this  book  do  not  permit  us  to  dis- 
cuss in  detail  all  dry-methods  of  excrement  re- 
moval. We  have  condemned  the  usual  filth-reek- 
ing privy  as  entirely  unfit  and  highly  dangerous  to 
health,  and  offer  in  the  earth-closet  a  substitute, 
simple  and  cleanly  in  operation,  entirely  inoffen- 
sive in  use,  and  well  adapted  to  prevent  the  un- 
healthiness  of  cottage  occupants  caused  so  fre- 
quently by  emanations  from  accumulations  of  pu- 
trefying excreta.  As  we  limit  our  remarks  to  the 
disposal  of  excrements  of  single  cottages  only,  we 
cannot  discuss  the  extent  of  the  applicability  of 
the  dry-earth  system  to  villages  or  large  commun- 
ities. 

"  The  Dry-Earth  System,"  to  quote  from  Dr. 
Buchanan's  official  report  made  in  1869,  "consists 
in  the  application,  with  the  greatest  procurable 
detail,  of  dry  earth  to  fresh  human  excrement,  and 
in  the  subsequent  removal  and  use  of  the  mixture 
for  agricultural  purposes."  The  uae  of  dry  earth  for 
disposal  of  excreta,  although  known  in  a  general 
way  since  centuries,  originated  practically  with  the 
Rev.  Henry  Moule,  Yicar  of  Fordington,  the  same 
who  devised  the  sub-surface  irrigation  system  for 
the  disposal  of  slop- water.  Dry  earth  possesses,  in 
a  high  degree,  the  power  of  deodorizing  and  dis- 
infecting human  excreta.  A  pound  and  a  half  of 
-dried  and  finely-sifted  earth  is  considered  sufficient 


294 

for  the  average  dejection.  The  quality  of  the 
earth  used  is  of  great  importance.  Gravel  and 
sand  are  useless  in  this  respect,  chalk  is  not  adapted 
to  this  purpose,  while  clay  is  quite  a  fit  material. 
But  the  best  earth  is  that  of  a  loamy  character, 
'Such  as  garden  earth  or  vegetable  humus,  which 
already  contain  some  organic  matter.  The  same 
quantity  of  earth  can  be  used  over  again  several 
times,  provided  it  is  thoroughly  dried. 

Numerous  mechanical  arrangements  have  been 
devised  to  throw  earth  in  proper  quantity  and  in 
the  right  manner  upon  the  excreta  deposited  in  a 
reservoir  under  the  closet  seat.  We  believe  the 
simplest  arrangement  for  the  use  of  small  cot- 
tages to  be  the  one  shown  in  the  sketch,  Fig.  277, 
of  having  in  the  closet  a  box  containing  dried  and 
well-sifted  earth,  which  is  thrown  upon  the  excreta 
by  means  of  a  hand-scoop  after  each  use. 

The  excreta  should  fall  into  a  plain  box  or  pail, 
or  else  into  a  tank  on  wheels  under  the  seat.  The 
sketch,  however,  shows  a  tightly-cemented  vault, 
entirely  above  ground,  open  and  accessible  for 
cleaning  out  at  the  rear,  from  where  the  fertilizing 
mixture  should  be  removed  at  frequent  intervals 
to  be  dug  under  the  ground. 

It  is  decidedly  preferable  not  to  locate  an  earth- 
closet  inside  of  a  dwelling.  Unless  very  strict 
attention  is  paid  to  the  apparatus,  it  is  apt  to  be- 
come offensive  to  the  smell.  A  plain  shed  may  be 
erected,  quite  close  to  the  rear  of  the  house,  if  de- 
sired, and  accessible  by  means  of  a  covered  walk, 
to  prevent  exposure  in  cold  weather.  Particular 
care  should  be  taken  that  no  rain-water  drips  into- 


295 


Of  ay* 

FIG.  277.— Plain  Earth  Clo««t. 


296 

the  cemented  vault,  for  this  would  be  sure  to 
create  a  nuisance. 

We  have  shown  under  and  in  front  of  the  seat 
in  Fig.  277,  a  funnel,  intended  to  catch  and  remove 
the  urine  by  means  of  a  small  pipe  leading  to  the 
slop- water  tank  (shown  in  Fig.  276).  Although 
we  are  aware  that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  all 
urine  from  the  excreta,  we  are  strongly  inclined  to 
believe  that  such  a  separation  will  tend  to  lessen 
the  possibility  of  an  earth-closet  becoming  offen- 
sive. 

We  must  now  resume  the  description  of  various 
constructions  of  the  sewage  tank.  For  larger 
buildings,  a  tight  cesspool  of  dimensions  sufficient 
to  hold  one  or  two  days'  sewage,  must  be  built. 
Its  outlet  may  be  closed  by  a  gate,  operated  by 
hand  labor.  As  this  may  not  always  be  done  with 
regularity,  an  automatic  arrangement  for  the  dis- 
charge is  preferable. 

The  capacity  of  the  tank  should  be  larger  than 
the  capacity  of  all  absorption  tiles.  Its  whole 
contents  should  be  suddenly  delivered  into  the 
pipes,  whereby  all  the  rows  of  tiles  are  uniformly 
charged.  Thus,  the  whole  of  the  absorption  field 
is  brought  into  use  each  time  the  tank  is  emptied. 
The  purification  begins  immediately,  the  clarified 
liquid  soaks  away  into  the  ground,  the  impurities 
being  retained  by  the  earth  filter,  where  they  are 
destroyed  by  oxidation,  air  enters  the  pores  of  the 
soil  and  prepares  it  for  future  use,  while  the  tank 
is  gradually  filling  for  the  next  discharge. 

An  important  caution  for  all  cases  where  the 
contents  of  water-closets  are  to  be  disposed  of 


combined  with  slop  water,  is  to  intercept  all  solids 
and  fatty  waste  matters,  which  should  not  be  dis- 
charged with  the  liquid  sewage  into  the  absorption 
drains,  as  they  would,  in  a  short  time,  clog  these, 
and  also  interfere  with  the  action  of  the  flush  tank. 
An  intercepting  chamber  must  be  built  between  the 
house  and  the  flush  tank,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  281. 


Fro.  378.— Field's  Flush-tank. 

This  will,  in  a  certain  sense  and  to  a  certain  de- 
gree, be  a  cesspool  ;  its  contents,  however,  are 
frequently  changed,  it  can  be  kept  of  small  dimen- 
sions, and  its  emptying  and  cleaning  (a  matter 
which  must  by  no  means  be  neglected)  is  much 
more  easily  effected.  It  should  be  built  of  best 
liard  burnt  brick,  set  in  pure  Portland  cement,  and 
the  tank  rendered  perfectly  tight. 


298 


The  automatic  discharge  of  the  sewage  tank  can 
be  effected  either  by  means  of  a  siphon  or  else  by 
a  tumbler  tank. 

Rogers  Field's  small  siphon  tank  is  shown  in 
Fig.  278.  It  is  made  both  in  earthenware  and  in 
cast-iron,  and  holds  about  40  gallons.  This  tank  is 
intended  for  the  disposal  of  slop- water,  but  may 
also  be  used  for  flushing  house  drains. 


A  tumbler  tank  for  slop-water  is  shown  in  Fig. 
279,  and  a  combination  of  a  siphon  and  a  tumbler 
box  (Isaac  Shone's  house  sewage  ejector)  in  Fig. 
280. 

Any  of  these  tanks  may  be  used  for  houses  hav- 
ing water  closets,  if  an  intercepting  chamber  is 
placed  between  the  house  and  the  tank. 


299 


A  larger  tank,  built  of  brick,  is  shown  in  Fig. 
269,  and  on  a  large  scale  in  Fig.  281.  A  represents 
the  house  drain,  B  the  intercepting  chamber,  C  the 
flush  tank,  DD  are  tight  iron  covers,  E  is  a  deposit 
of  sludge  in  the  intercepting  chamber,  F  is  the 
overflow  pipe  from  it  to  the  flush  tank  which  dips  at 
least  12  inches  into  the  liquid,  to  prevent  any  solid 
matter  or  greasy  scum  from  being  carried  over 
into  the  flush  tank.  H  is  the  annular  siphon  which 


=^ 


FIG.  280.— Shone  Siphon  Tank. 

discharges  the  contents  of  the  tank  at  regular 
intervals  automatically.  Its  details  are  shown  in 
Fig.  282.  K  is  a  screen  of  iron  wire,  M  is  the  weir 
which  starts  the  siphon,  L  is  an  inspection  pipe 
over  the  wier,  closed  at  the  surface  by  a  trap  screw 
P,  N  is  the  drain  leading  to  the  irrigation  field. 

The  operation  of   this   tank  may  be  described 
briefly  as  follows  : 


300 


As  soon  as  the  tank  is  filled  up  to  the  level  XX, 
the  water  begins  to  overflow  through  the  inner 
limb  of  the  siphon.  With  the  sudden  discharge 
of  a  bath  or  wash-tub,  enough  water  generally 
overflows  to  seal  the  siphon  at  its  bottom,  as  the 
water  cannot  pass  out  through  the  weir  M  as  quickly 
as  it  rushes  down  the  siphon.  The  descending 
column  of  water  carries  air  with  it  and  thus  estab- 
lishes a  partial  vacuum  in  the  siphon,  whereupon 
the  air  pressure  in  the  tank  forces  enough  water 
into  the  siphon  entirely  to  fill  it.  Thus  the  siphon 
is  started  and  continues  to  discharge  the  contents 


FIG.  281.— Field's  Flush  Tank  with  Settling  Chamber  for  Sew- 
age Disposal. 

of  the  tank  down  to  the  level  ZZ,  when  air  enters 
the  outer  limb  of  siphon,  whereupon  the  column  of 
water  in  the  outer  limb  of  siphon  drops  back  into 
the  tank,  while  that  in  the  inner  limb  runs  off 
through  the  weir.  Air  enters  here  and  completely 
breaks  the  siphon,  while  the  tank  is  gradually  fill- 
ing up. 

To  protect  the  siphon  from  obstructions  through 
paper  or  grease  carried  over  from  the  catchment 
apparatus,  it  is  advisable  to  place  around  it  a  net 


301 

of  galvanized  iron  wire  of  about  £  inch  mesh.  Even 
with  this  protection  the  siphon  needs  frequent 
cleaning  off  by  means  of  a  hose,  otherwise  serious 
stoppages,  especially  in  the  notch  of  the  weir,  will 
occur.  To  remove  these  obstructions,  an  inspec- 
tion or  lamphole  is  placed,  as  shown,  directly  over 
the  weir. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  annular  siphon, 
Rogers  Field's  invention,  is  patented  in  England, 
and  its  application  to  tanks  for  flushing  sewers  as 
well  as  to  sub-surface  irrigation,  is  controlled  in 


FIG.  282.— Field's  Annular  Siphon. 

this  country  by  the  Drainage  Construction  Com- 
pany, of  which  Col.  Geo.  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  is  con- 
sulting engineer. 

Fig.  281  shows  only  one  method  of  construction 
of  a  flush  tank  with  Field's  siphon  for  sewage  dis- 
posal. It  may  easily  be  modified  and  possibly 
improved. 

The  disposal  of  household  wastes  is  a  subject 
which  might  well  demand  a  treatment  in  a  special 
volume,  and  since  it  was  not  our  intention  to  de- 
scribe with  great  minuteness  all  details  of  the  sy§- 


302 

terns  of  sewage  disposal  for  country  houses,  we 
have  omitted  to  speak  of  the  proportion  between 
size  of  house  and  capacity  of  tank,  between  the 
latter  and  the  size  of  the  irrigation  field,  between 
the  size  of  tank  and  number  of  feet  of  distribu- 
ting drain  tiles,  between  the  character  of  soil  and 
the  distance  between  the  rows  of  tiles,  etc.,  all  of 
which  are  details  requiring  judgment,  skill  and 
experience  on  the  part  of  the  designer  of  such  a 
system.  Local  conditions  will  largely  determine 
the  design  and  arrangement  of  the  tank  and  the 
laying  out  of  the  irrigation  field. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  there  exists  in  no  case  a. 
sound  excuse  for  storing  the  human  filth  in  the 
usual  leaching,  unventilated  cesspool  placed  in  close 
proximity  to  the  household,  the  best  means  for 
breeding  or  multiplying  disease  germs  and  spread- 
ing disease  in  case  the  seed  should  reach  it.  A 
mass  of  putrescent  human  filth  stored  beneath  or 
near  a  dwelling  has  well  been  compared  to  a 
powder  magazine,  for  one  single  little  spark — a 
germ  in  the  stool  of  a  typhoid  fever  patient— may 
suffice  to  create  vast  harm  and  destruction. 

To  contribute  his  share  in  the  prevention  of 
"preventable  "  disease  has  been  the  author's  aim  in 
writing  these  hints.  His  hope  is  that  in  a  near 
future  we  may  find  in  and  around  every  human 
habitation,  in  the  city  and  in  the  country,  "pure 
air,  pure  water,  and  a  pure  soil.19 


THE  END. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  Tucker  Grease  Trap. 


1  his  represents  a  form  to  set  on  floor,  intended  for  sinks  not  specially  con- 
structed for  this  trap,  and  may  be  applied  to  any  sink  now  In  use. 

*"pHE  necessity  for  the  use  of  a  grease  trap  under  kitchen  and 
•I-  butler's  pantry  sinks,  is  too  well  recognized  by  sanitary 
engineers  and  plumbers  to  require  any  argument.  The  frequent 
stoppage  of  drain  pipes  which  receive  the  waste  water  from 
kitchens  of  hotels,  restaurants  and  private  houses  where  much 
dish  washing  is  done,  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  suffered 
the  annoyance,  and  been  obliged  to  pay  for  the  frequent  removal 
of  the  clogging  grease.  Believing  that  the  TUCKER  GREASE 
TRAP  is  the  be»t  device  yet  designed  for  that  purpose,  we  have 
arranged  with  its  inventor  to  manufacture  and  supply  the  trada 
with  this  useful  appliance.  Mr.  Tucker  informs  us  that  he  has, 
among  others,  thus  far  fitted  them  up  in  the  following  buildings: 
Residence  of  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  Esq.,  Residence  of  the  late 
Robe.  L.  Stuart,  Esq.,  Residence  cf  Theo.  Havemeyer,  Esq.,  and 
Restaurant  in  the  Mills  Building. 

MANUFACTURED  BT 

THE   MEYER  SNIFFEN  CO.,  Limited, 

B8STON,  1  PeiDerton  Spare.         KEW  YORK,  48  Cliff  street. 


SPECIALTIES  CONTROLLED  BY  us.—  T 


Hellyer  Closets  and  Hop- 

yal Por 

Model  Slop  Hopper;  The  Fuller  Faucet;  Do 
Cocks;  The  Murdock  Hydrant  and  Street  Washer. 


pe 
M 


he 

rs  ;  The  Brighton   Closet  ;  The  Royal 
Fu 


celain  Baths;  The 
oherty  Self-Closimr 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  Bower  Sewer  Gas  Trap. 

A  PERFECT  BABBLER  AGAINST  SEWER  GAS, 

It  it  Simple  in  its  Constriiction! 
It  is  Sure  in  its  Action! 

As  a  Water  Seal  it  is  the  Best! 

As  a  Valve  Seal  it  is  the  Best! 

NOTICE  THE  FOLLOWING  POINTS  OF  ADVANTAGE ! 

1.  SEAL  against  Sewer  Gas  under  pressure. 

2.  SEAL  against  Absorbed  Gases. 

3.  SEAL  against  Back  Water. 

4.  SEAL  not  broken  by  Siphonage. 

5.  SEAL  not  broken  by  Evaporation. 

6.  SELF-SCOURING. 

7.  REMOVABLE        S  E  C  - 

TION,  giving  access  to  all 
portions  of  Trap. 

8.  GLASS  SECTION,  expos- 

ing Valve  and  Water  Seal. 

9.  CUP   PART   interchange- 

able—may be  either  Glass, 
Lead,  or  Brass. 

10.  SCREW  JOINT   between 

Cup  and  Body  being  below 
water-line,  cannot  be  left 
loose  for  Gas  to  escape. 

11.  THE    HOLLOW    RUB- 

BER VALVE  and  Brass 
Valve  Seat  insures  a  perfect 
joint.  This  Valve  will  not 
pound  to  injure  itself  or 
seating. 

13.  FREEZING  will  not  injure  the  Trap,  the  compression  of 
the  Hollow  Rubber  Valve  allowing  for  expansion. 

13.  THE  FLOATING  VALVE,  as  compared  with  Gravity 

Valves  or  Gates,  is  little  or  no  resistance. 

14.  NEATNESS  of  form  and  adaptability  to  positions. 

15.  SIMPLE  in  construction. 

16.  SURE  in  its  action. 

17.  THE  surest  Water  Seal  with  or  without  the  Valve. 

18.  THE  surest  Valve  Seal. 

19.  IF  desired,  may  be  ventilated  as  readily  as  any  other  Trap. 

THESE  POINTS  are  fully  explained  in  our  Illustrated 
and  Descriptive  48  page  Pamphlet,  which  will  be  SENT 
FREE  TO  ANY  ADDRESS. 

B.  P.  BOWER  &  CO.,  Manufacturers, 

1O4  &  1O6  St.  Clair  Street,  Cleveland,  O. 


REGULAR"  FORM. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  Bower  Sewer  Gas  Trap, 

''PHIS   "Cutaway"    form    is    much  stronger 
against   Biphonage    than    ordinary   traps, 
and  has  some  special  advantages.    We   have 
been   slow  in    putting  it  on  the  market,  be- 
cause it  is  not  quite  so  strong 
against  siphonageasour  regular 
form  (see  opposite  page).  Under 
ordinary  construction,  and  es- 
pecially where  traps  are  "back 
vented,"  this  form  has  advan- 
tages, in  that  all  of  the  upper 
portion  is  brought    below  the 
water  line,  and  all  of  its  inner 
surface    is    subjected    to    the 
scouring  current.    The  sloping 
top  will  guide  everything  to  the 
outlet,  and  there  is  no  place  for 
accumulation  of  matter.  When 
the  cup  is  taken   off   there  is 

but  little  of  the  trap  left,  and  "CUTAWAY"  FORM 

there  is  no    other  trap    made  ORM- 

where   the  whole   of  its    inner   surface   is   so  accessible. 


HTHIS  cut  shows  one 
of  several  forms 
made  by  inventor  of  the 
Bower  Trap  before  pat- 
ent was  issued,  covering 
loating  Valve  in  trap, 
the  normal  position  of 
which  is  against  the  inlet 
pipe.  We  do  not  make 
this  form,  because  it  is 
but  littl  e  stronger  against 
siphonage  than  the  com- 
mon S,  and  it  does  not 
possess  the  advantage 
of  removable  sections, 
•tc.  Our  Mr.  Bower  is 
a  practical  plumber,  and 
solicits  correspondence 
from  interested  parties. 

B.  P.  BOWER   &   CO., 

104  &  106  St.  Clair  St.,         CLEVELAND,  O. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


a 


Boyle's   Patent 

Tidal  Wave 
Water  Closet. 


.3 


HENRY  HUBER  &  CO. 

SOLE  MANUFACTUKEKS 

No.  8^  Beekman  Street, 
NEW  YORK. 


A 

g|% 
*  ^°.= 

9  SKri 

[5^-'^50WOO»-) 

*  glPlil 

Illl^^ 

;iit! 

^1^8 

O  •  V  fl 

^^35: : 5  * 

V  53  C" 
Pg^W 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE    UNDERSIGNED    MANUFACTURE     AND     CONTROL    THE 
FOLLOWING  SANITARY  SPECIALTIES  UNDER  BOYLE'S  PATENTS: 

\u Tidal  Wave"  Closet, 
"  Croton-Washout," 
"Gotham"  Long  Flushing  Rim  Hopper, 
"Gotham"    and    "Standard"    Short 
Flushing  Rim  Hoppers,  with  Trap, 

ALL  OUR  HOPPERS  ARE  FLUSHED  BY  THE 

"Universal"  Waste-Preventing  Cistern, 

WHICH  HAS  NO  EQUAL   IN  SIMPLICITY  OF  CONSTRUCTION  AND 
PERFECTION   OF   OPERATION,  BEING  IN  FACT  SUITABLE   FOR 
ANY  KIND  OF  CLOSET  OR  HOPPER  MADE. 
FURTHER,  CALL  ATTENTION  TO  THE 

All  Earthenware  "New  Departure"  Valve 
Basin, 

UNDOUBTEDLY  THE  CLEANEST  WASH-BASIN  MADE. 

Carr's  Bath  and  Basin  Supplies, 

Carr's  Brass  Pumps  for  House  Use, 

All   our   Goods   are   made   of   the  Best  Materials  and 
Warranted. 


Catalogue  Sent  on  Application. 


HENRY    HUBER   &   CO. 

No.  85  BEEKMAN  STREET, 
NEW  YOKE. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


HENRY  STEEGER  &  CO. 


MANUFACTURERS    OF 


COPPER 


BOILERS, 

Showers, 

Baft  Tubs, 
Closet  Pans, 
Pantry  Sinks, 
Foot  ani  Seat 
Tubs, 


Dealers    in     all 
Jeindg  of 


TINNED  AND 
PLANISHED 
COPPER, 
143  &  145  East  31st  Street,  New  York, 


We  make  our  BATH  TUBS 
all  weights,  10,  12,  14,  16,  18 
and  20  ounce  and  upwards, 
guaranteed. 

Each  Tub  stamped  thus. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Myers   Sanitary  Depot, 

(INCORPORATED; 

94  BEEKMAN  STEEET,  NEW  YOEK. 


A.G.  Myers  All  China  Wash-Out  Water  Closet 

REFERENCES.— The   dotted   lines    represent  the   height   of  water  when 
closet  la  at  rest. 

A— indicates  the  1  1-4  Inch  supply,  which  has  a  brass  coupling. 
B— A  2  Inch  vent  to  ventilate  the  bowl. 

C— A  FLUSHING  BIM  IN  THK  TRAP  WHICH  HAS  THE  EFFFCT  TO  POSI- 
TIVELY DRIVE  ALL  PAPER  AND  FAECAL  MATTER  OUT  OF  THE  TRAP. 

D— A  2  Inch  vent  on  sewer  side  of  the  trap ;  this  has  also  brass  coupling. 

By  admitting  water  Into  this  closet  from  our  eannot-f»ll-to-supply- 
clstern,  paper  and  soil  will  disappear  like  dirt  before  a  broom.  This  closet 
has  been  put  In  the  new  METROPOLITAN  OPERA  HOUSE,  New  York, 
where  It  gives  the  best  of  satisfaction. 

SEND  FOR  CIRCULARS  OF  OUR 

NIAGABA  IMPROVED  FLUSHING  UK  HOPPEBS 

WITH  "  BEFORE  AND  AFTER-WASH  "  CISTERN. 
Also,  FIELD'S  FLUSH  TANK, 

And  WILSON'S  FLUSH  TANK, 

showing  the  operation  of  dispensing  with  Cesspools  and  the  Utilization  of 
House  Drainage,  and  the  Flushing  of  Sewers. 

Also,  MOULE   EARTH  CLOSET. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  Best  American  Publication  Devoted 
to  Hygiene, — New  York  Herald. 


THE  SANITARIAN 


THE  SANITARIAN  from  the  first  has  been  devoted  to  sanitary 
science  in  its  most  comprehensive  aspect,  has  sought  and  pre- 
sented contributions  from  the  most  distinguished  sanitarians  at 
home  and  abroad,  on  the  basis  of  substantial  knowledge  with  a 
careful  avoidance  of  premature  conclusions. 

It  is  the  constant  effort  of  THE  SANITARIAN  to  sustain  the 
reputation  it  has  earned  as  "the  foremost  publication  devoted 
to  sanitary  science  in  this  country;  to  seek  out  and  discuss  in  the 
same  independent  and  earnest  manner  as  hitherto,  all  causes  in 
conflict  with  health,  public  and  private;  and  so  far  as  possibly 
to  render  sanitation  a  popular  theme  of  study,  and  practical  in 
its  application  to  all  the  avenues  of  life. 


A.  N.  BELL,,  A.M.,  M.D.,  ,  Editor. 

T.  P.  COHBALL-Y,  A.M.,  M.D.,    .    Associate  Editor. 


COLLABORATORS. 

PHILIP  S.  WALKS,  M.D.,  Surgeon-General,  U.  S.  N. 

JULIUS  W.  ADAMS,  C.E.,  New  York. 

PROF.  C.  K.  AGNEW,  A.M.,  M.D.,  New  York, 

NATHAN  ALLEN,  A.M.,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Massachusetts. 

H.  B.  BAKER,  M.D.,  Sec'y  St.  Bd.  of  H.,  Michigan. 

HENRY  I.  BOWDITCH,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Massachusetts. 

PROF.  J.  L.  CABELL,  A.M.,  M.U..  LL.D.,  Pres.  Nat.  Bd.  of  Health. 

PROF.  S.  E.  CHAILLE,  A.M.,  M.D..  Louisiana. 

8.  H.  DURGIN,  M.l'.,  Massachusetts. 

J.  EATON,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  U.  S.  Com  of  Education. 

A.  L.  GIHON,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Med.  Pir.  U.  S.  N.,  Pres.  Am.  P.  H.  A.. 

E.  HARRIS,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Sec.  St.  Bd.  of  H.,  New  York. 

E.  M.  HUNT,  M.D.,  Sec.  St.  Bd.  of  H.,  New  Jersey. 

PROF.  R.  McSHERRY,  M.D.,  Mar j  land, 

MOREAU  MORRIS.  M.D.,  New  York. 

J.  C.  PETERS,  M.D.,  New  York. 

J.  RAUCH,  M.D.,  Sec.  St.  Bd.  of  H.,  Illinois. 

J.  E.  REEVES,  M.D.,  Sec.  Ft.  Bd.  of  H.,  West  Virginia. 

PROF.  J.  G.  RICHARDSON,  M.D.,  Pennsylvania. 

STEPHEN  SMITH,  M.D.,  New  York. 

H.  R.  STORER,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Rhode  Island. 

J.  M.  TONER,  M.D  ,  Washington,  D.  C. 

J.  G.  THOMAS,  M.D.,  Georgia. 

T  J.  TURNER,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Ph.D..  Med.  Director  U.  S.  N. 

O.  W.  WIGHT,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Att'y  and  Couns.  at  Law,  Michigan. 


A.    N.   BELL, 

P.  O.  Box  2156.  113  Fulton  Street,  New  York. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER,  conducted  by 
HENRY  C.  MEYER,  is  published  every  Thursday,  at 
140  William  Street,  New  York,  and  92  and  93  Fleet 
Street,  London.  Its  opinions  upon  all  technical  sub- 
jects are  either  prepared  or  revised  by  specialists. 

THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  publishes  more  illustrated 
descriptions  of  the  work  of  plumbing,  heating,  lighting, 
and  ventilation  of  buildings,  than  any  other  journal 
printed  in  the  English  language. 


"A  large  and  flourishing  weekly  journal,  covering  the  whole  field  of 
Sanitary  Science,  and  recognized  as  a  leading  authority  upon  the  subject." 
—  The  Nation. 

"  It  Is  gratifying  to  see  that  the  public,  ai  well  as  specialists,  are  enough 
Interested  in  Sanitary  matters  to  give  substantial  support  to  a  periodical 
ably  endeavoring  to  Impart  much-needed  and  vital  instruction."—^.  Y. 
Times. 

"THE  SANITANY  ENGINEER  shows  an  excellent  appreciation  of  what 
may  be  done  in  the  Held  of  Sanitary  Engineering,  and  a  practical  ability  for 
doing  It."— N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"The  recognized  American  authority  on  all  departments  of  Sanitary 
Engineering/'—  Cincinnati  Gazette. 

"It  has  done  an  excellent  work  In  disseminating  the  most  intelligent 
opinions  on  Sanitation."— Springfield  Republican. 

"THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  haa  done  a  noble  work  in  the  field  it  has 
chosen."— Boxton  Herald. 

"  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  is,  beyond  question,  the  ablest  publication 
or  its  class  in  this  country.  The  papers  prepared  for  it  are  from  the  pens 
of  the  ablest  experts,  and  treat  of  specialties,  the  discussion  of  which  is 
essential  to  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  sanitary  growth  and  progress." 
—Afemphix  Appeal. 

"Standard  authority  on  matters  pertaining  to  its  specialty  ."-American 
Machinist. 

"  It  is  &  Journal  with  a  mission— that  of  raising  the  low  standard  of  Sani- 
tary Engineering  which  exists  In  the  United  States.  Its  large  editorial  staff 
Includes  the  names  of  some  of  the  best  known  and  most  practical  writers 
In  America  on  health  subjects,  and  no  pains  or  expense  are  spared  In  mak- 
ing the  paper  useful  to  the  fullest  extent."— Engineering,  London. 

"It  would  bo  impossible  to  point  out  a  publication  in  which  the  depart- 
ment of  public  panltation  receives  greater  or  more  careful  attention  than 
in  the  journal  of  which  we  havt  received  the  fifth  and  sixth  volumes. 
Whatever  fault  may  be  found  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  with  the  news- 
paper press  of  America,  It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  that  portion  of  the 
periodical  literature  of  the  United  States  which  is  devoted  to  science 
occupies  a  most  distinguished  place  amongst  the  scientific  press  of  the 
globe.  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER  stands  high  in  this  respect.  In  its 
pages  the  various  subjects  relating  to  public  health— drainage,  water-supply, 
ventilation,  heating  and  lighting— are  most  conscientiously  attended  to, 
shortcomings  and  abuses  being  fearlessly  exposed,  and  care  being  taken  to 
have  all  expressed  opinions  upon  technical  matters  prepared  or  revised  by 
specialists.  What,  Increases  its  value  to  the  public  is  this,  that  since  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  refused  to  grant  the  appropriation  needed  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  continuing  the  publication  of  trie  Bulletin  of  the 
National  Board  of  Health,  the  conductors  of  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER 
have  performed  that  work,  a  display  of  public  spirit  which  deserves  due 
recognition."— Iron,  London,  Jan.  12. 


Subscription,  $4  per  Year,  post-paid,  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  $5  Foreign.  Single  copies  ten 
cents,  from  all  newsdealers. 

Specimen  Copies  Free,  if  this  advertisement  is 
mentioned. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  Sanitary  News. 

;  ,  HEALTHY  HOMES  AND  HEALTHY  LIVING, 

A  Semi-Monthly  Journal  of  Sanitary  Science,   pub- 
lished at  Chicago,  on  the  ist  and  I5th  of  each  month. 


G.  P.  BROWN,        .        .        .       Editor  and  Proprietor. 
JNO.  K.  ALLEN,        ....        Associate  Editor. 


ANEW  impetus  has  been  given  to  the  growth  of  sanitary 
science  by  the  recent  interest  manifested  in  it  by  the  gen- 
eral public.  Architects,  Plumbers,  Builders,  Civil  Engineers, 
reputable  Physicians,  and  other  trades  and  professions  have 
caught  the  infection  and  the  result  is  a  marked  improvement 
in  the  healthy  construction  of  dwellings,  and  in  the  manner 
of  living. 

THE  SANITARY  NEWS  aims  to  be  a  leading  factor  in  the 
growth  of  this  new  science,  and  has  already  succeeded  in  plac- 
ing itself  at  the  head  of  sanitary  journalism,  not  only  in  this 
country,  but  in  the  world.  It  is  the  recognized  authority  in  all 
matters  relating  to  sanitation,  its  editorial  and  general  articles 
being  subject  to  the  approval  of  experts  before  being  printed. 

The  best  writers,  both  in  technical  subjects  and  for  corres- 
pondence, are  secured,  and  special  articles  are  presented  from 
time  to  time,  which  have  great  practical  value. 

THE  SANITARY  NEWS  is  superior  in  mechanical  appearance  to 
any  other  journal,  of  whatever  kind,  published,  and  not  a  line  of 
useless  or  extraneous  matter  is  ever  allowed  in  its  pages.  The 
greatest  care  is  taken  to  have  everything  in  and  about  the  paper 
as  near  perfection  as  is  possible  to  make  it.  This  journal  repre- 
sents the  best  in  its  wide  field,  and  is  thus  a  practical  guide  to 
architects,  plumbers,  builders,  municipal  and  health  officers, 
civil  engineers  (so  far  as  their  profession  has  to  do  with  sewer 
construction  and  other  sanitary  works),  physicians,  and,  as  well, 
to  every  man  who  builds  or  lives  in  a  house. 

A  feature  of  THE  SANITARY  NEWS  is  the  profuse  illustration 
of  every  subject  discussed,  which  can  be  better  elucidated  there- 
by; the  fine  quality  of  the  paper  and  the  careful  printing,  bring  out 
these  illustrations  in  a  manner  superior  to  that  of  any  other 
paper. 

The  subscription  price  of  THE  SANITARY  NEWS  is  $2.00  a  year 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada;  $3.00  in  any  other  country  in 
the  Universal  Postal  Union ;  subscriptions  are  strictly  in 
advance.  The  London  Office  of  THE  SANITARY  NEWS  is  at 
50  Finsbury  Square,  E.  C.,  in  charge  of  Henry  R.  Allen. 

For  Sample  Copies,  as  in  all  other  correspondence,  address, 

G.  P.  BROWN,  Proprietor, 

144  Monroe  Street,  CHICAGO. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Engineering  News 

AND 

American  Contract  Journal 


A    Weekly   Journal    Devoted    to    the    Interests    of    Engineers, 
Surveyors,  Architects  and  Contractors. 

Established  1874,  and  published  at  Rooms  12  and  13,  Tribune  Build- 
ing, New  York  City,  by  the 

ENGINEERING   NEWS    PUBLISHING    CO. 

Conducted   by   GEORGB   H.   FROST   and   D.   McN.    STAUFFER. 


Published  every  Friday  Night,  and  mailed  in  time  for  the  early 
Saturday  Morning  Trains  leaving  New  York. 

ENGINEERING  NEWS  AND  AMERICAN  CONTRACT  JOURNAL  pub- 
lishes a  WEEKLY  RECORD  of  all  important  engineering  enter- 
prises, projected  or  in  proprress,  as  RAILROADS,  their  incorpora- 
tion, survey  and  construction :  Canals,  Bridges,  Tunnels,  Harbors, 
Docks,  Street  Pavement*,  Sewers,  Drainage,  Water-Works, 
River  Improvements,  Roofs,  Chimneys,  Dams,  Electric- Lighting, 
also  of  the  Iron  and  Metal  Market ;  Abstracts  of  Bids  for  Work; 
Prices  of  Labor;  Prices  of  Contractors'  Supplies;  Occasional 
Notes  on  Mining  of  Iron  and  Coal,  and  on  Shipbuilding. 

A  prominent  feature  of  ENGINEERING  NEWS  Is  the  publication 
of  the  Proceedings  of  all  known  Engineering  Societies,  Personal 
Mention  of  the  Elections,  Appointments,  Business  Changes, 
Marriages,  Deaths,  etc.,  of  Engineers  and  Members  of  kindred 
professions,  Meetings  of  Societies,  Abstracts  of  full  text  of 
important  papers  read,  Notices  of  Engineering  Publications, 
Specifications,  New  and  Important  Inventions  or  Processes 
relating  to  Engineering,  and  Selections  from  contemporaneous 
publications,  domestic  or  foreign. 

The  advertising  columns  of  this  .journal  are  now  a  well 
recognized  medium  in  the  United  States,  for  quickly,  cheaply  and 
most  effectively  reaching  the  notice  of  ENGINEERS,  SURVEYORS, 
and  CONTRACTORS.  American  water  works  construction  Is  an 
especial  and  established  feature,  and  parties  supplying  ma- 
chinery and  materials  will  do  well  by  advertising  in  its  columns  ; 
Contractors  and  Engineers  now  seek  there  for  information  In 
this  especial  trade.  The  ENGINEERING  NEWS  AND  AMERICAN 
CONTRACT  JOURNAL  is  on  the  official  l(st  of  1  he  U.  S.  Treasury, 
and  War  Department.  There  is  no  better  advertising  medium 
open  to  Chief  Engineers  of  Railroads,  Town  and  City  Officials, 
to  Manufacturers  of  Contracting  Materials,  and  to  contractor* 
themselves,  for  personal  advertising. 

The  uniform  Improvement  in  every  department  of  the  paper 
during  the  past  years ;  its  recognized  position  in  the  first  rank  of 
class  journals;  its  increasing  circulation  and  advertising  pat- 
ronage ;  its  prosperous  condition,  are  the  best  guarantees  that 
can  be  given  for  its  future  improvement  and  Its  increased  value 
to  its  patrons.  

SUBSCRIPTION  RATES  (IN  ADVANCB.) 

One  Year,  $4.OO. 

Six  Months,  $2.00. 

Single  Copies,   I  O  Cents. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


"  BUILDING." 


MONTHLY. 
Subscription,  &1.OO  per  Year,  in  advance. 


'-TREATING  on  all  matters  of  interest  to  the  building  trades. 
EACH   NUMBER   CONTAINS    4   fall-page    lithographic 

plates.  Competitions  will  be  offered  from  time  to  time  on 
subjects  of  interest,  and  the  best  designs  published. 

The  reading  articles  will  be  from  the  pens  of  men  well  versed 
in  their  subjects,  and  will  treat  on  all  matters  of  importance  to 
the  building  trades.  Editorial  comments  and  the  current  news 
regarding  building  matters  will  appear  in  each  issue. 

Sample  sent  on  application.  Special  inducements  will  be 
offered  those  wishing  to  get  up  clubs  ;  SEND  TOR  CLUB  RATES. 

PRESS   NOTICES. 

For  an  architect  or  builder,  this  publication  cannot  fail  to  be 
of  great  and  continual  interest.—  The  N.  Y.  World. 

We  are  in  receipt  of  BUILDING.  It  bears  eloquent  testimony 
to  eminent  literary,  as  well  as  artistic  talent,  connected  with  its 
publication.—  Chemical  Review. 

The  first  number  of  the  second  volume  of  BUILDING,  an  ex- 
cellent architectural  monthly,  has  just  made  its  appearance.  It 
is  full  of  instructive  matter,  and  the  illustrations  are  numerous, 
well  executed  and  interesting.  —  The  Evening  Telegram. 

In  its  specialty  this  journal  cannot  fail  to  be  of  the  greatest 
service,  and  all  persons  interested  in  building  should  avail  them- 
selves of  its  store  of  valuable  information.—  Bookseller  and 
Stationer. 

One  of  the  handsomest  and  best  architectural  papers  among 
our  exchanges  is  BUILDING.  "Well  illustrated,  printed  and  edited, 
treating  on  all  matters  of  interest  to  the  building  trade.—  Wood 
and  Iron. 

BUILDING,  an  architectural  monthly  .....  This  new  claimant 
for  public  favor  well  deserves  it  .....  Every  number  is  worth 
the  subscription  price  to  any  who  have  interest  in  building,  old 
or  new.—  Living  Church,  Chicago. 

BUILDING  is  printed  on  fine  paper  and  in  very  good  style,  and 
promises  to  become  a  valuable  addition  to  the  list  of  American 
class  papers.  We  wish  its  enterprising  publisher  much  success. 
—  Manufacturer  and  Builder. 

BUILDING  is  the  name  of  a  new  and  copiously  illustrated  archi- 
tectural monthly,  published  by  W.  T.  Comstock,  of  this  city.  It 
has  the  appearance  of  an  old  and  prosperous  trade  journal.— 
The  Critic. 

No  field  has  presented  a  more  favorable  opening  for  an  enter- 
prising journal  than  that  of  popular  architecture.  BUILDING  is 
designed  to  meet  a  want  that  is  specially  noticeable  in  suburban 
towns.  Each  magazine  contains  a  complete  plan  with  elevations 
of  a  country  residence.  These  designs  are  tasteful  and  easily 
understood.  Attention  is  also  paid  to  carefully  drawn  specifica- 
tions. Very  complete  and  elegant  designs  for  city  residences 
have  also  appeared  from  time  to  time.  The  questions  of  sewer- 
age, sanitation,  etc.,  are  freely  discussed  —Industrial  News. 

IV.  T.  Comstock,  Publisher,  6  As^or  Place,  New  York. 

FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  NEWS  DEALERS. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


of 


DEVOTED  TO 

Architecture,  Furniture,  Decoration  and  Ornament, 

PUBLISHED  MONTHLY, 
Subscriptions,  $5  a  year  in  advance.     Single.  Copies,  SOe. 


THIS  is  a  most  elaborate  and  complete  architectural 
journal.  Is  issued  in  a  handsome  cover,  and  con- 
tains in  addition  to  the  contents  of  the  regular  issue  of 
"  BUILDING,"  a  large  number  of  Lithographic  Plates,  a 
special  feature  of  which  will  be  the  republication  of  the 
best  designs  selected  from  the  leading  foreign  journals, 
so  that  subscribers  for  this  monthly  will  obtain  the 
cream  of  all  the  foreign  publications  on  these  subjects. 

Each  number  contains  IS  full-page  lithographic  plates. 

PRESS   NOTICES. 

Mr.  Comstock  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  contents  and 
general  appearance  of  his  Special  Illustrated  Edition  of  BUILD- 
ING. We  have  no  doubt  this  new  venture  will  be  appreciated  by 
the  architectural  and  building  public.— Engineering  News. 

BUILDING  begins  its  second  volume  with  a  special  number 

filled  with  a  rich  array  of  illustrations Persons  who  desire 

A  monthly  magazine,  devoted  to  the  circle  of  arts,  included 
under  the  title  of  building,  will  do  well  to  examine  this  work, 
Home  Journal. 

We  most  heartily  congratulate  Mr.  Comstock  on  the  fine  ap- 
pearance of  BUILDING,  and  feel  confident  he  will  meet  with  the 
success  his  energy  and  enterprise  deserves.— American  Real 
Estate  Guide. 

Nothing  finer  in  its  way  has  been  offered  to  the  public.— The 
Mechanical  News. 

The  illustrations  are  very  artistic.— The  Sanitary  News. 

In  the  richness  of  contents,  beauty  of  illustrations,  the  current 
numbers  of  BUILDING  is  a  decided  credit  to  American  journal- 
ism.— Trade  Review  and  Western  Machinist. 

The  value  to  the  architect  and  builder  cannot  be  overestimated, 
and  the  price,  five  dollars  a  year,  is  a  merely  nominal  considera- 
tion for  the  subjects  of  interest  and  instruction  it  possesses.— 
Lumber  Trade  Journal. 

It  is  not  often  that  so  much  and  so  valuable  material  is  found 
at  one  time  in  a  trade  journal,— The  Publishers'  Weekly. 

The  number  before  us  Is  in  itself  a  complete  book  on  building 
and  kindred  subjects.— Chattanooga  Daily  Times. 

We  commend  the  BUILDING  to  our  students,  amateurs,  and 
professors  in  architecture  and  building.— If haca  Daily  Journal. 

It  is  without  doubt  the  most  valuable  publication  of  the  kind 
published  in  the  country.— Southern  Lumberman. 

One  of  the  best  architectural  periodicals  of  the  day  is  BUILD- 
ING.— The  Christian  Union. 

Very  attractive  in  appearance,  and  is  well  worthy  of  liberal 
patronage.— American  Engineer. 

W.  T.  Comstock,  Publisher,  6  Astor  Place,  New  York. 
FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  NEWS  DEALERS. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


DIAGRAM      FOR     SEWER      CALCULATIONS. 

Constructed  from  Tables  in  Baldwin  Latham's 
"  Sanitary  Engineering,"  and  calculated  from  Weis- 
bach's  Formulae.  Price,  '.:-,  .  .  75  cents. 

"  A  useful  little  diagram,  exhibiting  at  a  glance  the  relations 
between  discharge,  velocity,  rate  of  inclination,  and  diameter  of 
circular  sewers  from  3  to  36  inches  diameter.  Any  two  of  these 
quantities  being  given,  the  lines  on  the  diagram  enable  the  others 
to  be  obtained  by  simple  inspection." — The  Sanitary  Engineer. 


ANLAGEN  VON  HAUS-ENTWASSERUNGEN 
NACH  STUDIEN  AMERIKANISCHER  VER- 
HALTNISSE.  Price,  .  .  .  .  80  cents. 

"The  young  engineer  or  architect,  or  the  intelligent  house- 
holder, can  get  from  these  thirty-six  pages  all  that  he  would 
probably  be  able  to  glean  from  the  ponderous  volumes  of  Latham 
and  Denton,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  desultory  reading 
and  practical  experience  in  addition.  .  .  We  can  assure  .  .  . 
our  readers  .  .  .  that  this  little  pamphlet  will  help  them  more 
to  sound  and  practical  knowledge  than  any  work  with  which  we 
are  acquainted,  even  of  many  times  its  bulk."— The  American 
Architect  and  Building  News. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE   AND  SANITARY  PLUMB- 
ING.    2d  Edition,  1884.     Price,        ...    50  cents. 

41  It  is*  excellently  adapted  to  give  the  general  public  an  idea 
of  what  the  details  of  a  good  system  of  plumbing  are."— The 
Sanitary  Engineer. 

"Mr.  Gerhard's  little  manual,  enlarged  from  papers  printed  in 
Van  Nostrand's  Magazine,  gives  an  admirable  synopsis  of  the  state 
of  sanitary  knowledge  at  the  present  time.  It  is  a  book  that 
ought  to  be  in  every  house  and  thoroughly  understood  by  every 
householder."— Philadelphia  Press. 

"  If  all  who  wish  to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  what  is  at 
present  practically  worth  knowing  about  sanitary  plumbing, 
would  study  Mr.  W.  P.  Gerhard's  latest  contribution  to  Van 
Nostrand's  Science  Series,  there  would  be  little  use  for  the 
innumerable  pages  of  instruction,  advice,  information  and 
misinformation  that  are  being  constantly  brought  forth  by 
incompetent  writers  on  the  subject."— The  Builder. 

"This  is  a  sound  little  book,  in  which  all  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  plumbing,  and  all  the  many  articles  connected  with  it, 
are  given  in  the  clearest  and  most  satisfactory  manner."- - 
London  Sanitary  Record. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


HLIST   OFK- 


Books 

Sent  Free  by  Mail  or  Express,  on  Receipt   of  Price. 


American  Cottages $5  00 

Album  of  Mantels 8  00 

Ames'  Alphabets 1  50 

Bicknell's  Village  Builder  and  Supplement 10  00 

Bicknell's  Detail  Cottage  and  Constructive  Arch..  6  00 

Bicknell's  Cottage  and  V ilia  Architecture 4  00 

Bicknell's  Street,  Store  and  Bank  Fronts 2  50 

Bicknell's  Public  Buildings 2  50 

Bicknell's  School  House  and  Church  Architecture.  2  50 

Bicknell's  Stables,  Out-Buildings,  Fences,  etc 2  50 

Brown's  Building  Tables 1  50 

Oameron's  Plasterer's  Manual 75 

Cummings'  Architectural  Details 6  00 

Gardner's  Common  Sense  in  Church  Building. ...  1  00 

Gould's  Carpenter's  &  Builder's  Assistant,  New  Ed.  2  50 

Gould's  American  Stair  Builder's  Guide,  2  50 

Gould's  Steel  Square  Problems 1  00 

Hallett's  Specifications 50 

Hulme's  Treatise  on  Drawing  Instruments 1  50 

Hussey's  Home  Building 2  50 

Interiors  and  Interior  Details  7  50 

Mitchell's  Stepping  Stone  to  Architecture 60 

Modern  Architectural  Designs  and  Details 10  00 

Modern  House  Painting 5  00 

Monckton's  Practical  Geometry 1  00 

Powell's  Foundations,  etc.,  New  Ed.  in  Press — 

Reed's  House  Plans  for  Everybody 1  50 

Sewerage  of  Dwellings 2  50 

Tuthill's  Practical  Lessons  in  Arch.  Drawing 2  50 

Wither's  Church  Architecture 10  00 


Catalogue  of  all  Publications    on  Application. 


T,  T.  Coistock,  Publisher,  6  Astor  Place,  New  Tort 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


MILLER  &  COAXES, 

279    PEARL   STREET, 
New  York. 

IMPORTERS  OF  AND  DEALERS  IN 


Plumbers'  Materials. 


GSRNKIRK   CHIMNEY  TOPS. 


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